KB Home (NYSE:KBH) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $61.79, but opened at $56.59. KB Home shares last traded at $57.88, with a volume of 1,193,732 shares trading hands.

The construction company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. KB Home had a return on equity of 16.46% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. KB Home's payout ratio is 12.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on KB Home from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of KB Home from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on KB Home from $97.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KB Home from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KB Home presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.21.

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Insider Activity at KB Home

In other news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total value of $1,891,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,370,708.21. This represents a 44.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KB Home

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of KB Home by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,815 shares of the construction company's stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in KB Home by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 590 shares of the construction company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in KB Home by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,465 shares of the construction company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in KB Home by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 880 shares of the construction company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in KB Home by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,019 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 96.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KB Home Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.46.

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.