KE Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BEKE)

KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 21,284 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 81% compared to the typical volume of 11,738 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEKE. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.10 target price on shares of KE in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of KE from $23.90 to $21.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Institutional Trading of KE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of KE by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,575,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,928,000 after purchasing an additional 151,596 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of KE by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,807,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,865,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,418 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of KE by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,861,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,209 shares during the period. Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of KE by 12.0% in the third quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 7,969,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,684,000 after purchasing an additional 855,850 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of KE by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,926,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,949 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.34% of the company’s stock.

KE Stock Performance

BEKE stock opened at $14.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of -0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.72 and its 200 day moving average is $14.57. KE has a one year low of $12.44 and a one year high of $19.95.

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

KE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $0.351 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 2.2%. KE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.93%.

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.