KBR Wins Deal to Enhance Australian Nuclear Submarine Facilities

KBR, Inc. KBR has been awarded a contract to continue providing technical design services at HMAS Stirling, advancing Australia's nuclear-powered submarine infrastructure. The contract, granted by the Security and Estate Group and the Australian Submarine Agency, aims to support the Submarine Rotational Force – West, accelerating Australia's capabilities to safely operate and maintain a future nuclear-powered submarine fleet.KBR will integrate Frazer Nash Consultancy, a KBR subsidiary, to deliver nuclear technical solutions with a safety-first approach. Their expertise spans maritime infrastructure, submarine maintenance support, estate planning, and systems engineering, contributing to critical national security efforts.The project builds on KBR’s prior work at HMAS Stirling and complements its design services for the new SSN-AUKUS submarine construction yard in Osborne, South Australia, which is essential to delivering next-gen submarines to the Royal Australian Navy.KBR's Contract Winning SpreeKBR’s focus on a resilient business model and efficiency-boosting initiatives have sparked its project-winning momentum. Also, the rising global importance of national security, energy security, energy transition and climate change has been acting as a major tailwind. Notably, KBR has more than five decades of comprehensive design engineering experience in various industries.KBR remains at the forefront of pioneering decarbonization initiatives through continuous process innovation and harnessing low-carbon technologies to reduce emissions effectively.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchShares of this company have gained 9.8% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry’s 23.1% growth. Although shares of the company have underperformed its industry, new and on-contract growth across its Government Solutions businesses and increased demand for sustainable services and technology are likely to be beneficial in the upcoming period.In the second quarter of 2024, KBR received $2.1 billion in bookings and options in highly strategic areas, with a trailing 12-month book-to-bill of 1x. Total revenues increased 6% to $1.86 billion year over year. The upside was backed by growth across Sustainable Technology Solutions as well as the Government Solutions’ new and on-contract growth across International, Defense & Intel, and Science and Space, partially offset by contraction in Readiness & Sustainment due to Ukraine funding delays.As of June 28, 2024, the total backlog (including award options of $3.332 billion) was $20.1 billion compared with $21.73 billion at 2023-end. Of the total backlog, Government Solutions booked was $12.89 billion. The Sustainable Technology Solutions segment contributed $3.92 billion to the total backlog.Backed by its solid performance in the first half and improving global demand for its services, KBR raised its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) projection to the range of $3.15-$3.30 from $3.10-$3.30 expected earlier.KBR’s EPS estimate for 2024 reflects 11.3% year-over-year growth to $3.24 on a 9% increase in revenues.KBR’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksCurrently, KBR carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are:Howmet Aerospace Inc. HWM presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). HWM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.9%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 12.6% and 39.1%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. STRL presently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Sterling Infrastructure has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.4%, on average.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STRL’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 9.7% and 26.6%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.M-tron Industries, Inc. MPTI currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has topped earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 9.2%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPTI’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 16.1% and 76.6%, respectively, from prior-year levels.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report KBR, Inc. (KBR): Free Stock Analysis Report Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL): Free Stock Analysis Report Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM): Free Stock Analysis Report M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks