KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Short Interest Up 9.5% in November

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,310,000 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the October 31st total of 5,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days. Approximately 8.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at KB Home

In related news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total transaction of $2,183,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,156.20. This trade represents a 44.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of KB Home

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KBH. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of KB Home by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 65,715 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group lifted its stake in KB Home by 0.8% in the third quarter. Castellan Group now owns 75,585 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,477,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of KB Home during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KB Home during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,226,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KB Home by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,080 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. 96.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KB Home Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of KBH stock opened at $82.74 on Wednesday. KB Home has a 1-year low of $53.54 and a 1-year high of $89.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.05 and a 200-day moving average of $78.16.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. KB Home had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 9.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that KB Home will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. KB Home’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KBH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on KB Home from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on KB Home from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of KB Home from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of KB Home from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of KB Home from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.50.

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.