Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 796,453 Shares of KB Home (NYSE:KBH)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Free Report) by 88.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,902 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 796,453 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of KB Home worth $7,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KBH. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of KB Home by 24.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 196,229 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,816,000 after buying an additional 38,638 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in KB Home by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 65,715 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in KB Home by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 27,843 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in KB Home in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP bought a new position in KB Home in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Institutional investors own 96.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KBH shares. StockNews.com cut KB Home from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of KB Home from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of KB Home from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of KB Home from $67.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of KB Home in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.23.

KB Home Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:KBH traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $53.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 119,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,153. KB Home has a fifty-two week low of $48.90 and a fifty-two week high of $89.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 5.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.37, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.45.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 24th. The construction company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. KB Home had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 16.46%. The firm's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that KB Home will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. KB Home's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 5,000 shares of KB Home stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.38, for a total transaction of $271,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,047.56. This trade represents a 32.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.89% of the company's stock.

KB Home Profile

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.