KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.26.

BEKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of KE in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KE from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered KE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.70 to $24.50 in a report on Thursday, March 20th.

KE Stock Performance

Shares of BEKE opened at $20.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.39 and a 200-day moving average of $19.75. The company has a market cap of $24.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of -0.82. KE has a 1 year low of $12.49 and a 1 year high of $26.05.

KE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from KE’s previous — dividend of $0.17. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. KE’s payout ratio is presently 64.58%.

Institutional Trading of KE

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEKE. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in KE during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in KE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in KE by 411.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in KE by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in KE during the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. 39.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KE Company Profile

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.