KE (NYSE:BEKE) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

KE (NYSE:BEKE) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BEKE. Wall Street Zen raised shares of KE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. CLSA began coverage on shares of KE in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $23.80 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of KE in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.64.

KE Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:BEKE opened at $17.61 on Monday. KE has a twelve month low of $13.81 and a twelve month high of $19.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.84.

KE (NYSE:BEKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. On average, research analysts expect that KE will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at KE

In related news, Director Yigang Shan sold 3,326,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.44, for a total transaction of $18,097,084.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,868,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,042,948.16. The trade was a 5.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Yongdong Peng sold 16,033,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.27, for a total transaction of $84,499,090.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,824,251 shares in the company, valued at $331,083,802.77. This trade represents a 20.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of KE by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,915,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,445 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in KE by 5.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,942,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 324,707 shares during the period. Perseverance Asset Management International increased its position in KE by 20.4% during the first quarter. Perseverance Asset Management International now owns 1,391,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,830,000 after buying an additional 236,000 shares during the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP acquired a new position in KE during the second quarter worth approximately $10,138,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in KE by 56.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 630,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,627,000 after buying an additional 227,616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.34% of the company’s stock.

KE Company Profile

KE Holdings Inc, also known as Beike, operates a technology-driven housing-services platform in China. The company connects consumers, housing agents, property developers and other service providers through online and offline channels.

Its business includes brokerage services for existing-home and new-home transactions, residential rentals, and related housing services. KE Holdings also provides home renovation and furnishing services, property management, and other services designed to support consumers throughout the residential real estate lifecycle.

The company’s platform supports a network of agents and stores and uses data, digital tools and standardized operating processes to facilitate property searches, transactions and related services.