One Chinese property company is not only defying the market slump but also returning money to shareholders. U.S.-listed KE Holdings is “in a league of its own,” Barclays analysts said in a Wednesday report. KE, which trades under the ticker “BEKE,” runs one of the largest real estate brokerages in China for rentals and home sales. “The company has already returned more capital than they ever raised from capital markets, demonstrating management’s strong focus on shareholder returns,” the analysts said. KE on Tuesday reported about $182 million in second quarter profit, a 31% year-on-year drop, while announcing a $5 billion share buyback program — up from $3 billion previously — through the end of August 2028. “BEKE is the best property agent (both online and offline) in China, in our opinion,” the Barclays analysts said, adding that “the company has been gaining share in both existing home and new home sales in China over the last three years despite the Chinese property market facing significant challenges.” The analysts affirmed their overweight rating and price target of $25. That’s more than 40% upside from Thursday’s close. China’s real estate market, on the other hand, is still far from recovering. Investment in Chinese real estate steepened its drop with a decline of 12% for the year so far as of July . Average prices even for properties in China’s c …
