KE (NYSE:BEKE) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $20.69, but opened at $21.42. KE shares last traded at $21.35, with a volume of 2,850,031 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEKE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on KE from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group lowered shares of KE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $22.70 to $24.50 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of KE in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.26.

KE Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of -0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.62.

KE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from KE’s previous — dividend of $0.17. KE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEKE. FIL Ltd grew its position in KE by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 25,847,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,111,000 after buying an additional 4,503,902 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its stake in shares of KE by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 11,261,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,433,000 after acquiring an additional 392,588 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of KE by 111,822,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,182,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,978,000 after acquiring an additional 11,182,265 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of KE by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,155,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,228,000 after purchasing an additional 194,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in KE in the 4th quarter worth about $130,167,000. 39.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.