M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.13.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of M.D.C. from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $57.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of M.D.C. in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of M.D.C. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David E. Blackford sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.69, for a total value of $388,678.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $848,446.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 23.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M.D.C.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in M.D.C. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in M.D.C. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in M.D.C. during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in M.D.C. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 640 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in M.D.C. during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 88.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

M.D.C. Stock Performance

M.D.C. stock opened at $62.89 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.65 and a 200-day moving average of $52.62. M.D.C. has a 1 year low of $36.47 and a 1 year high of $63.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 9.76 and a quick ratio of 3.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.54.

M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. M.D.C. had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 8.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that M.D.C. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

M.D.C. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. M.D.C.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

About M.D.C.

M.DC Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the homebuilding and financial service businesses. Its homebuilding operations include purchasing finished lots or developing lots for the construction and sale primarily of single-family detached homes to first-time and first-time move-up homebuyers under the Richmond American Homes name.