Investors Buy High Volume of KB Home Put Options (NYSE:KBH)

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 2,522 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 29% compared to the average volume of 1,961 put options.

KB Home Stock Performance

Shares of KBH traded down $4.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.56. 1,062,512 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,036. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $64.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.95. KB Home has a 1 year low of $58.80 and a 1 year high of $89.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 5.51.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 24th. The construction company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. KB Home had a return on equity of 16.46% and a net margin of 9.45%. KB Home’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that KB Home will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. KB Home’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KB Home

In related news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of KB Home stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total transaction of $1,891,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,708.21. This trade represents a 44.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KB Home

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KBH. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of KB Home by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 540 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in KB Home by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 590 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in KB Home by 275.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 759 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in KB Home by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of KB Home in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. 96.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KBH. Royal Bank of Canada raised KB Home from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on KB Home from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on KB Home from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of KB Home from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of KB Home from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.46.

KB Home Company Profile

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.