Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) Cut to Neutral at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $64.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $75.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Century Communities in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Century Communities in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Communities from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Communities in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Century Communities from $56.00 to $49.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Century Communities Price Performance

Century Communities stock opened at $59.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.56. Century Communities has a 1 year low of $50.42 and a 1 year high of $76.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.27. Century Communities had a net margin of 3.31% and a return on equity of 6.24%. The business had revenue of $789.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Century Communities will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Century Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Century Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Century Communities’s payout ratio is currently 26.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Century Communities news, Chairman Dale Francescon sold 100,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $7,251,244.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 561,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,686,795.28. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Communities

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,978,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $117,397,000 after purchasing an additional 72,920 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,631,055 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $96,803,000 after purchasing an additional 139,141 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,044,604 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,832,000 after purchasing an additional 254,186 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 649,744 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,562,000 after purchasing an additional 32,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New South Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 285.1% in the 4th quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 609,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,169,000 after purchasing an additional 451,187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.54% of the company’s stock.

About Century Communities

Century Communities, Inc is a national homebuilder and land developer headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The company is engaged in the acquisition, development, construction and sale of single- and multi-family residential homes, offering a range of floor plans and design options to homebuyers. In addition to its core homebuilding activities, Century Communities provides ancillary services such as mortgage financing, title and closing services, and insurance products through its wholly owned subsidiaries, aiming to deliver a comprehensive homebuying experience.

Founded in 2009, Century Communities rapidly expanded through both organic growth and strategic land acquisitions, positioning itself in high-growth markets across the United States.