Cerity Partners LLC Sells 18,731 Shares of KB Home (NYSE:KBH)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Free Report) by 48.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,011 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,731 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in KB Home were worth $1,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KB Home during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,638,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KB Home in the 4th quarter worth about $44,118,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of KB Home in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,288,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in KB Home by 4,083.5% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 146,422 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,623,000 after acquiring an additional 142,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in KB Home by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 727,809 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,832,000 after acquiring an additional 142,913 shares during the last quarter. 96.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at KB Home

In other KB Home news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of KB Home stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total transaction of $1,891,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,708.21. The trade was a 44.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KB Home Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KBH traded up $1.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.83. 252,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,543,871. KB Home has a 52-week low of $48.90 and a 52-week high of $89.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.50 and a 200 day moving average of $68.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 6.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.65.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 24th. The construction company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.07). KB Home had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 16.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. KB Home's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KB Home will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

KB Home Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. KB Home's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on KB Home from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on KB Home from $82.00 to $74.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on KB Home from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of KB Home from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of KB Home from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KB Home presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.04.

About KB Home

KB Home operates as a homebuilding company in the United States. It operates through four segments: West Coast, Southwest, Central, and Southeast. It builds and sells various homes, including attached and detached single-family residential homes, townhomes, and condominiums primarily for first-time, first move-up, second move-up, and active adult homebuyers.