Kennedy-Wilson (NYSE:KW) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KW)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $7.47, but opened at $9.76. Kennedy-Wilson shares last traded at $9.7350, with a volume of 884,814 shares.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Kennedy-Wilson’s dividend payout ratio is presently -71.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kennedy-Wilson from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Kennedy-Wilson in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kennedy-Wilson from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Kennedy-Wilson Trading Down 1.7%

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16.

Kennedy-Wilson (NYSE:KW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.10. Kennedy-Wilson had a positive return on equity of 12.90% and a negative net margin of 9.11%.The business had revenue of $135.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.98 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kennedy-Wilson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Kennedy-Wilson by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 30,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Kennedy-Wilson by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 588,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,106,000 after purchasing an additional 15,379 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kennedy-Wilson by 233.1% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 141,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 98,848 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Kennedy-Wilson in the first quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kennedy-Wilson during the first quarter worth about $477,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

About Kennedy-Wilson

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment company. The company owns, operates, and invests in real estate both on its own and through its investment management platform. It focuses on multifamily and office properties located in the Western United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Japan.