KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of KB Home (NYSE:KBH) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.11.

Several research firms have issued reports on KBH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on KB Home from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of KB Home from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KB Home from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KB Home from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut KB Home from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

KB Home Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KBH opened at $68.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.74. KB Home has a 52-week low of $42.11 and a 52-week high of $72.00.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The construction company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.19. KB Home had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that KB Home will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from KB Home’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. KB Home’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 38,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $2,554,972.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,522.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KB Home

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of KB Home by 433.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 485 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KB Home in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in KB Home by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 930 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of KB Home during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KB Home in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.09% of the company’s stock.

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.