KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Lowered to "Strong Sell" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded KB Home from “hold” to “strong sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $59.92 average price target.
• KB Home shares opened at $47.08, down 3%, and remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.43 narrowly missed estimates, while revenue fell 27.3% year over year.
• Two insiders sold a combined 26,015 shares in August, although institutional investors own a substantial 96.09% of KB Home’s outstanding stock.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

KBH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of KB Home from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of KB Home from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of KB Home in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on KB Home from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on KB Home from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.92.

KB Home Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of KBH stock opened at $47.08 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average is $54.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.66. KB Home has a twelve month low of $44.03 and a twelve month high of $67.57. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.34.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 23rd. The construction company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). KB Home had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 4.94%.The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. KB Home's revenue for the quarter was down 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that KB Home will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at KB Home

In other news, Director Arthur Collins sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.96, for a total value of $227,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,157 shares in the company, valued at $521,582.72. This trade represents a 30.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Albert Praw sold 22,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.70, for a total transaction of $1,292,280.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,108,439.40. This trade represents a 17.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KB Home

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in KB Home in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $618,489,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in KB Home during the second quarter worth $108,652,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KB Home during the fourth quarter worth $48,418,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in KB Home during the second quarter worth $37,500,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in KB Home in the second quarter valued at $35,837,000. 96.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KB Home

KB Home NYSE: KBH is a homebuilding company that designs, constructs and sells residential properties in the United States. Its offerings primarily include single-family homes, with communities and floor plans intended for first-time buyers, move-up buyers and other owner-occupants. The company also provides homebuyers with opportunities to personalize selected features and finishes through its build-to-order approach.

The company operates in several major housing markets across the United States, including locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

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