Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Century Communities a consensus "Hold" from seven brokerages (1 sell, 3 hold, 3 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $74.75, while JPMorgan cut its target to $49 and rates the stock underweight.
• Chairman Dale Francescon sold 100,100 shares at $72.44 (≈$7.25M), trimming his stake by 15.13%; insiders own 11.90% of the company and institutional investors hold 99.54%.
• Century Communities beat Q results (EPS $1.59 vs $1.39 est.; revenue $1.23B vs $1.04B est.) despite revenue being down 3.1% YoY, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 (≈2.2% yield).

Shares of Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.75.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CCS. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Century Communities in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Communities from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Century Communities in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Century Communities in a 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 on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Century Communities

In other Century Communities news, Chairman Dale Francescon sold 100,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $7,251,244.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. New South Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Century Communities by 285.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Century Communities by 26.6% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,341,781 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,569,000 after purchasing an additional 282,133 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Century Communities by 32.2% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,044,604 shares of the construction company's stock worth $58,832,000 after purchasing an additional 254,186 shares during the last quarter. Voss Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 280.0% in the second quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 285,000 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,051,000 after purchasing an additional 210,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Century Communities by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,499 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,239,000 after buying an additional 186,938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.54% of the company's stock.

Century Communities Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Century Communities stock opened at $57.54 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.26 and its 200 day moving average is $62.80. Century Communities has a one year low of $50.42 and a one year high of $76.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Century Communities had a return on equity of 6.87% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company's revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Century Communities will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Century Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Century Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Century Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.34%.

Century Communities Company Profile

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.

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