KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

KB Home (NYSE:KBH)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $64.08, but opened at $71.63. KB Home shares last traded at $67.80, with a volume of 1,366,372 shares traded.

The construction company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. KB Home had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 9.31%. KB Home’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on KB Home from $85.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on KB Home from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded KB Home from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on KB Home from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on KB Home from $82.00 to $74.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in KB Home by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 196,229 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,816,000 after purchasing an additional 38,638 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of KB Home by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 906,236 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,655,000 after purchasing an additional 164,010 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in KB Home in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $956,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in KB Home by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,742 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 7,679 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of KB Home by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 107,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,173,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.09% of the company’s stock.

KB Home Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.92.

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.