Bank of America Upgrades KE (NYSE:BEKE) to “Buy”

KE (NYSE:BEKE) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $28.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $24.00. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 26.35% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of KE in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.80 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.90.

KE Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE BEKE opened at $22.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $27.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.05, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of -0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.09 and a 200-day moving average of $16.32. KE has a 1-year low of $12.44 and a 1-year high of $26.05.

KE (NYSE:BEKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $2.06. The business had revenue of $23.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.51 billion. KE had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 6.74%. KE’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KE will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KE

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in KE by 5.1% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of KE by 12.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of KE by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 58,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of KE by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in KE by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,988 shares during the last quarter. 39.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KE Company Profile

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.