Kennedy-Wilson (NYSE:KW) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KW) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $8.63, but opened at $8.81. Kennedy-Wilson shares last traded at $8.83, with a volume of 73,488 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Stanley R. Zax purchased 41,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.56 per share, for a total transaction of $350,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 547,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,685,744. This trade represents a 8.10 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on KW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Kennedy-Wilson in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Kennedy-Wilson from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Kennedy-Wilson Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.06. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.42, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.14.

Kennedy-Wilson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Kennedy-Wilson’s dividend payout ratio is -85.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennedy-Wilson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KW. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in Kennedy-Wilson by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 2,650,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,477,000 after acquiring an additional 395,000 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Kennedy-Wilson by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 9,299,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,903,000 after acquiring an additional 325,737 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Kennedy-Wilson in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,801,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Kennedy-Wilson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,572,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,704,000 after acquiring an additional 241,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Kennedy-Wilson by 183.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 296,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,274,000 after acquiring an additional 191,790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

About Kennedy-Wilson

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment company. The company owns, operates, and invests in real estate both on its own and through its investment management platform. It focuses on multifamily and office properties located in the Western United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Japan.