KE Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BEKE)

KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 20,045 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 464% compared to the average volume of 3,553 put options.

KE Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of KE stock opened at $15.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of -0.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a current ratio of 2.95. KE has a 52-week low of $15.18 and a 52-week high of $22.25.

KE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be given a $0.276 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 167.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. KE’s payout ratio is currently 61.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEKE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KE in the 4th quarter valued at $112,843,000. Athos Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of KE during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,500,000. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,500,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of KE by 197.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,421,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of KE by 897.9% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,740,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,073,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566,253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on BEKE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded KE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut KE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of KE in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $23.00 price target on KE in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.63.

KE Company Profile

KE Holdings Inc (NYSE: BEKE) is a technology-driven real estate services company that operates an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and related services in mainland China. The company provides consumer-facing property listing marketplaces alongside a broad network of offline brokerage offices and agents, aiming to facilitate sales, rentals and new-home transactions for individual and institutional clients.

The company’s offerings span property listings for new and resale homes, rental listings, brokerage representation and transaction facilitation.