Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Takes Position in KB Home (NYSE:KBH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KB Home (NYSE:KBH) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 900 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in KB Home by 40.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 930 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new position in KB Home in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. CI Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in KB Home during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $145,000. Kendall Capital Management bought a new stake in KB Home during the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in KB Home in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $196,000. Institutional investors own 96.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KB Home news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 38,386 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $2,554,972.16. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other KB Home news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 38,386 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $2,554,972.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,522.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian J. Woram sold 83,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total transaction of $5,040,454.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 156,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,449,883.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 167,129 shares of company stock worth $10,345,058 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of KB Home from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on KB Home from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on KB Home from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on KB Home from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered KB Home from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KB Home has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.11.

KB Home Stock Performance

KB Home stock opened at $65.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.73. KB Home has a 52-week low of $41.33 and a 52-week high of $72.00.

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

KB Home Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. This is an increase from KB Home’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. KB Home’s payout ratio is presently 13.61%.

KB Home 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.