KE (NYSE:BEKE) Trading 6.8% Higher

KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE)’s stock price rose 6.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.98 and last traded at $15.97. Approximately 2,070,210 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,081,266 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BEKE shares. HSBC dropped their price target on KE from $23.90 to $21.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $21.10 target price on shares of KE in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th.

KE Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of -0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.56.

KE (NYSE:BEKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. KE had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 7.62%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KE Holdings Inc. will post 0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a $0.351 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. KE’s dividend payout ratio is 44.93%.

Institutional Trading of KE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEKE. Davis Selected Advisers acquired a new position in KE in the third quarter worth approximately $54,363,000. Coatue Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KE by 169.7% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,015,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,308,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155,995 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in KE by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,861,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,701,000 after buying an additional 2,763,209 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KE during the 4th quarter valued at $43,492,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of KE by 171.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,384,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,855,000 after buying an additional 2,139,397 shares during the last quarter. 39.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KE

KE Holdings Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in operating an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in the People's Republic of China. It operates through four segments: Existing Home Transaction Services, New Home Transaction Services, Home Renovation and Furnishing, and Emerging and Other Services.