Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,256 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 138,950 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of KBR worth $20,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in KBR by 29.9% in the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 296,359 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,008,000 after acquiring an additional 68,250 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in KBR during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,732,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in KBR by 85.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 523,020 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,547,000 after buying an additional 240,677 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KBR by 88.9% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 41,289 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 19,430 shares during the period. Finally, Pembroke Management LTD raised its position in KBR by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 225,728 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,478,000 after purchasing an additional 96,683 shares during the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KBR from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 6th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on KBR from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of KBR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KBR presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.14.

KBR Price Performance

KBR stock opened at $57.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.90 and a 200-day moving average of $64.50. The company has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KBR, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.60 and a 12-month high of $72.60.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. KBR’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. KBR’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.21%.

About KBR

KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.