Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Stock Price

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $74.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KBH. Bank of America raised their target price on KB Home from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KB Home from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of KB Home from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays downgraded shares of KB Home from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of KB Home from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.17.

KB Home Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KBH opened at $65.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.90 and its 200 day moving average is $78.36. KB Home has a fifty-two week low of $58.05 and a fifty-two week high of $89.70.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.02). KB Home had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that KB Home will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. KB Home’s payout ratio is 12.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total transaction of $2,183,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,156.20. The trade was a 44.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KB Home

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of KB Home in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of KB Home in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of KB Home during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of KB Home during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KB Home by 625.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.09% of the company’s stock.

About KB Home

KB Home operates as a homebuilding company in the United States. It operates through four segments: West Coast, Southwest, Central, and Southeast. It builds and sells various homes, including attached and detached single-family residential homes, townhomes, and condominiums primarily for first-time, first move-up, second move-up, and active adult homebuyers.