Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 87,277 Shares of KB Home (NYSE:KBH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 207,666 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 87,277 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of KB Home worth $17,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in KB Home during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KB Home in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of KB Home by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,080 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KB Home by 625.3% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the construction company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in KB Home by 23.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,271 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. 96.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KBH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of KB Home from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of KB Home from $78.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of KB Home from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of KB Home from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on KB Home from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeff Kaminski sold 27,500 shares of KB Home stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total value of $2,183,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,737,156.20. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 4.44% of the company's stock.

KB Home Stock Up 0.1 %

KBH traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $78.63. 256,402 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,104. KB Home has a one year low of $51.53 and a one year high of $89.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.02.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.02). KB Home had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KB Home will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. KB Home's payout ratio is 12.82%.

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.