Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $61.43 Million Stock Holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its stake in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,060,439 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 196,123 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in KBR were worth $61,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KBR. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in KBR by 12,326.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,242,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $188,098,000 after buying an additional 3,216,323 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of KBR by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,805,163 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $162,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,033 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in KBR during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,022,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of KBR by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,416,531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,876,000 after buying an additional 305,889 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of KBR by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 882,086 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,099,000 after acquiring an additional 218,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

KBR Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of KBR opened at $50.95 on Thursday. KBR, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.16 and a 1 year high of $72.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.33. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. On average, analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This is a positive change from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KBR presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $961,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 63,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,214,134.47. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

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.