Peregrine Capital Management LLC Purchases 13,436 Shares of KBR, Inc. $KBR

Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 255,291 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,436 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KBR were worth $12,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in KBR by 11.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,779 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,073,000 after purchasing an additional 8,243 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KBR by 50.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 627,321 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,247,000 after buying an additional 211,311 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in KBR in the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in KBR in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in KBR by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 395,574 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,704,000 after acquiring an additional 23,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

KBR Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of KBR stock opened at $43.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. KBR, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.52 and a 1 year high of $60.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.61.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.07. KBR had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 35.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on KBR in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on KBR from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on KBR from $62.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of KBR in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of KBR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.40.

About KBR

KBR, Inc is a global engineering, procurement, construction and services (EPC&S) company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm delivers integrated solutions and technologies across the full project lifecycle for customers in the energy, government, industrial and infrastructure sectors. Its offerings span feasibility studies, front-end engineering design, detailed design, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning and operations support.

The company is organized into business segments that include Energy Solutions, which focuses on oil and gas processing, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and petrochemical plants; Government Solutions, providing logistics, sustainment, training and mission support for defense, intelligence and civilian agencies; and Sustainable Technology, delivering chemical process technologies, water treatment and lower-carbon fuels expertise.