KE (NYSE:BEKE) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $16.99, but opened at $17.94. KE shares last traded at $17.11, with a volume of 1,190,252 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.95. KE had a return on equity of 5.47% and a net margin of 3.77%.The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BEKE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of KE in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on KE from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of KE from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. CLSA initiated coverage on shares of KE in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $23.80 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of KE from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.37.

Institutional Trading of KE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEKE. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in KE by 86.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 127,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,904,000 after buying an additional 59,079 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of KE in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,266,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KE by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 433,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 110,293 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in shares of KE during the fourth quarter worth about $998,000. Finally, Perseverance Asset Management International increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 236,000 shares during the period. 39.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KE Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60 and a beta of -0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.14 and its 200-day moving average is $16.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

KE Company Profile

KE Holdings Inc (NYSE: BEKE) is a technology-driven real estate services company that operates an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and related services in mainland China. The company provides consumer-facing property listing marketplaces alongside a broad network of offline brokerage offices and agents, aiming to facilitate sales, rentals and new-home transactions for individual and institutional clients.

The company’s offerings span property listings for new and resale homes, rental listings, brokerage representation and transaction facilitation.