Short Interest in KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) Expands By 27.6%

KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,070,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the March 31st total of 15,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

KE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEKE opened at $15.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of -0.73. KE has a 52-week low of $12.44 and a 52-week high of $19.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.54.

KE (NYSE:BEKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. KE had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 9.19%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KE will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a dividend of $0.351 per share. This represents a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. KE’s dividend payout ratio is 44.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KE by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in KE in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in KE in the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of KE by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of KE by 358.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,737 shares during the period. 39.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.10 price target on shares of KE in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. HSBC lowered their target price on KE from $23.90 to $21.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th.

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.