KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Short Interest Update

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,100,000 shares, a decrease of 13.5% from the January 15th total of 4,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 5.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

KB Home Stock Performance

NYSE:KBH traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,034,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,626,209. KB Home has a twelve month low of $60.26 and a twelve month high of $89.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 5.51.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 13th. The construction company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. KB Home had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 16.46%. KB Home’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KB Home will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. KB Home’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.81%.

Insider Activity at KB Home

In other KB Home news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total transaction of $1,891,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,708.21. This represents a 44.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KB Home

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KBH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in KB Home during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in KB Home by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 540 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in KB Home by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 590 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in KB Home during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in KB Home by 275.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 759 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 96.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on KB Home from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on KB Home from $85.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded KB Home from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $93.00) on shares of KB Home in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on KB Home from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.21.

KB Home Company Profile

KB Home operates as a homebuilding company in the United States. It operates through four segments: West Coast, Southwest, Central, and Southeast. It builds and sells various homes, including attached and detached single-family residential homes, townhomes, and condominiums primarily for first-time, first move-up, second move-up, and active adult homebuyers.