KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $23.64 According to Analysts

Shares of KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.64.

A number of brokerages have commented on BEKE. Zacks Research cut KE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded KE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded KE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of KE in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, CLSA initiated coverage on KE in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $23.80 price target for the company.

KE Stock Down 1.6%

BEKE opened at $17.36 on Thursday. KE has a 1 year low of $13.81 and a 1 year high of $19.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a current ratio of 3.30. The company has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of -0.26.

KE (NYSE:BEKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.11. KE had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that KE will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Yongdong Peng sold 16,033,983 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.27, for a total transaction of $84,499,090.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,824,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,083,802.77. The trade was a 20.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Yigang Shan sold 3,326,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KE

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