KB Home Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KBH)

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 2,522 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 29% compared to the typical volume of 1,961 put options.

KB Home Stock Performance

NYSE KBH opened at $59.14 on Thursday. KB Home has a twelve month low of $56.41 and a twelve month high of $89.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.71.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 24th. The construction company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. KB Home had a return on equity of 16.46% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KB Home will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. KB Home’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KBH. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of KB Home from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of KB Home in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on KB Home from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on KB Home from $97.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of KB Home from $76.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KB Home has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total value of $1,891,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,708.21. The trade was a 44.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KB Home

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in KB Home by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 540 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of KB Home by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in KB Home by 275.7% during the 4th 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. Amundi increased its holdings in KB Home by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in KB Home in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 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.