Zacks Research Downgrades KB Home (NYSE:KBH) to Strong Sell

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on KB Home from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on KB Home from $63.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of KB Home in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of KB Home from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of KB Home in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.09.

KB Home Price Performance

KBH stock opened at $57.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.40. KB Home has a 52-week low of $48.90 and a 52-week high of $72.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.16.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The construction company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. KB Home had a net margin of 6.88% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KB Home will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Albert Z. Praw sold 20,284 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.08, for a total transaction of $1,218,662.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,252,044.96. This trade represents a 16.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of KB Home in the 3rd quarter valued at $111,050,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KB Home in the second quarter worth about $55,329,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KB Home during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,301,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KB Home by 116.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 942,479 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,957,000 after acquiring an additional 506,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KB Home by 326.7% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 456,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,514,000 after acquiring an additional 349,298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.09% of the company’s stock.

KB Home Company Profile

KB Home is an American homebuilding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1957, it was among the first homebuilders to go public, offering investors access to one of the nation’s largest residential construction platforms. The company is structured to serve a broad spectrum of homebuyers, with a particular focus on first-time, first move-up and active adult segments. As a public company trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KBH, KB Home draws on decades of experience in land acquisition, construction and community planning.

At its core, KB Home designs and constructs single-family detached and attached homes, townhomes and condominium units.