KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE) Stock Has Average Target Price of $23.64 According to Brokerages

KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.64.

A number of research firms have issued reports on BEKE. Zacks Research raised shares of KE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of KE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of KE in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised KE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, CLSA started coverage on KE in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $23.80 target price for the company.

KE Stock Performance

Shares of KE stock opened at $17.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of -0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.70. KE has a 52 week low of $13.81 and a 52 week high of $19.88.

KE (NYSE:BEKE) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.11. KE had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that KE will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other KE news, Director Yigang Shan sold 3,326,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.44, for a total transaction of $18,097,084.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,868,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,042,948.16. This trade represents a 5.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Yongdong Peng sold 16,033,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.27, for a total transaction of $84,499,090.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,824,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $331,083,802.77. This represents a 20.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of KE by 16.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,915,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,445 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in KE by 5.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,942,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 324,707 shares during the period. Perseverance Asset Management International boosted its holdings in KE by 20.4% in the first quarter. Perseverance Asset Management International now owns 1,391,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,830,000 after purchasing an additional 236,000 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in KE by 56.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 630,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,627,000 after purchasing an additional 227,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of KE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,138,000. 39.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KE Company Profile

KE Holdings Inc, also known as Beike, operates a technology-driven housing-services platform in China. The company connects consumers, housing agents, property developers and other service providers through online and offline channels.

Its business includes brokerage services for existing-home and new-home transactions, residential rentals, and related housing services. KE Holdings also provides home renovation and furnishing services, property management, and other services designed to support consumers throughout the residential real estate lifecycle.

The company’s platform supports a network of agents and stores and uses data, digital tools and standardized operating processes to facilitate property searches, transactions and related services.