E-House (China) Reaches 52-Week High

E-House (China) Holdings Limited (EJ) is riding on the growth trajectory. Its ADSs crafted a new 52-week high, touching $14.63 during the trading session on Dec 26, and closed at 14.31, which reflects a solid return of 38.8% over the past one month. The trading volume for the session was nearly 2.8 million shares.

Despite the strong price appreciation, this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock has plenty of upside left, given its growth potential backed by the concerted efforts in its real estate e-commerce business.

Growth Drivers

This Chinese real estate company – E-House – reported a better-than-expected performance in the third quarter. Its solid performance was driven by significant growth in revenue that climbed 43% year over year in the quarter under review. The stock witnessed solid estimate revisions following its earnings in November.

An 85% year-over-year surge in revenues in its real estate online services, chiefly driven by growth in e-commerce revenues, contributed to this upside. Also, revenues from real estate information and consulting services escalated 47% year over year. Further, the company raised its already hiked fiscal 2013 total revenue guidance that reflects a 51% year-over-year increase.

Notably, E-House initiated the concept of real estate e-commerce in 2011 and launched its e-commerce 3.0 open transaction platform in June this year. The company has now opted for strategic cooperation with CITIC Bank Corporation Limited for the e-commerce 4.0 platform. Through these opportunistic moves, E-House is aiming at capitalizing on the growing real estate e-commerce business platform.

Other Stocks to Consider

Apart from E-House, the other stocks worth considering in the Real Estate Operations sector include FirstService Corp. (FSRV), Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc. (KW) and Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL). While FirstService and Kennedy-Wilson carry a Zacks Rank #1, Jones Lang LaSalle has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).