KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,310,000 shares, a growth of 9.5% from the October 31st total of 5,760,000 shares. Approximately 8.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush lifted their target price on KB Home from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of KB Home from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of KB Home from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KB Home from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on KB Home from $78.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.50.

Insider Transactions at KB Home

In related news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total transaction of $2,183,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,156.20. The trade was a 44.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of KB Home by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,494 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in KB Home by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,578 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in KB Home by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in KB Home by 3.9% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 5,029 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KB Home by 1.2% in the third quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,891 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.09% of the company’s stock.

KB Home Price Performance

NYSE KBH traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.16. 771,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,206,743. KB Home has a 52 week low of $53.54 and a 52 week high of $89.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.10. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.81.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.02). KB Home had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that KB Home will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. KB Home’s payout ratio is currently 12.82%.

About KB Home

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.