KE Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BEKE)

KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 21,284 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 81% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,738 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KE

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Selected Advisers acquired a new position in KE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,363,000. Coatue Management LLC boosted its holdings in KE by 169.7% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,015,918 shares of the company's stock worth $81,308,000 after buying an additional 3,155,995 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of KE by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,861,852 shares of the company's stock worth $224,701,000 after buying an additional 2,763,209 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of KE in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,492,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of KE by 171.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,384,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,855,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139,397 shares during the last quarter. 39.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KE Stock Up 7.4 %

NYSE:BEKE traded up $1.02 on Friday, reaching $14.83. The stock had a trading volume of 25,875,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,965,589. The company has a market capitalization of $18.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of -0.73. KE has a 1-year low of $12.44 and a 1-year high of $19.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.57.

KE (NYSE:BEKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. KE had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 7.62%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that KE will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.351 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. KE's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $21.10 price target on shares of KE in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. HSBC lowered their target price on KE from $23.90 to $21.80 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th.

About KE

KE Holdings Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in operating an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in the People's Republic of China. It operates through four segments: Existing Home Transaction Services, New Home Transaction Services, Home Renovation and Furnishing, and Emerging and Other Services.

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