KE (NYSE:BEKE) Stock Price Up 6.8%

KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) shot up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.98 and last traded at $15.97. 2,070,210 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 8,081,266 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of KE from $23.90 to $21.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.10 price target on shares of KE in a report on Tuesday, March 19th.

KE Stock Up 12.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of -0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.53.

KE (NYSE:BEKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. KE had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 9.19%. As a group, analysts anticipate that KE Holdings Inc. will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 payout ratio is currently 44.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of KE by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,573,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,513,000 after purchasing an additional 180,150 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in KE by 171.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,384,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,855,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139,397 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in KE during the 4th quarter worth $7,957,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in KE by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 790,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,263,000 after acquiring an additional 94,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of KE by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 431,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,698,000 after acquiring an additional 52,687 shares during the period. 39.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KE

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.