D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,990,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the March 15th total of 4,670,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other D.R. Horton news, Director Barbara K. Allen sold 1,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.26, for a total value of $250,418.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,419. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Barbara K. Allen sold 1,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.26, for a total transaction of $250,418.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,419. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider David V. Auld sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.33, for a total transaction of $3,908,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 773,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,862,005.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,197 shares of company stock valued at $4,225,745. Insiders own 1.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of D.R. Horton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in D.R. Horton during the first quarter worth $27,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in D.R. Horton during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of D.R. Horton in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of D.R. Horton in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of D.R. Horton by 345.6% in the third quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 303 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. 90.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of D.R. Horton from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of D.R. Horton from $175.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of D.R. Horton from $155.00 to $192.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of D.R. Horton from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of D.R. Horton from $166.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, D.R. Horton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.71.

D.R. Horton Stock Performance

Shares of DHI opened at $149.07 on Tuesday. D.R. Horton has a 12 month low of $97.92 and a 12 month high of $165.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 6.56, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The construction company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.88 by ($0.06). D.R. Horton had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $7.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that D.R. Horton will post 14.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

D.R. Horton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. D.R. Horton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.63%.

D.R. Horton Company Profile

D.R. Horton, Inc operates as a homebuilding company in East, North, Southeast, South Central, Southwest, and Northwest regions in the United States. It engages in the acquisition and development of land; and construction and sale of residential homes in 118 markets across 33 states under the names of D.R.