Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial downgraded Century Communities from Buy to Neutral and cut its price target to $64 (from $75), triggering a premarket gap down — the stock opened at $57.48 after a $63.82 close and last traded near $55.86.
• Insider sale: Chairman Dale Francescon sold 100,100 shares at an average $72.44 (about $7.25M), reducing his holding by 15.13%; insiders currently own roughly 13.7% of the company.
• Mixed fundamentals: The company beat EPS estimates ($0.88 vs. $0.61) but revenue fell 16.9% year-over-year, and management raised the quarterly dividend to $0.32 (annualized $1.28, ~2.3% yield).

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after B. Riley Financial downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. The stock had previously closed at $63.82, but opened at $57.48. B. Riley Financial now has a $64.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $75.00. Century Communities shares last traded at $55.8560, with a volume of 46,943 shares trading hands.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Century Communities in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Century Communities in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Century Communities from $56.00 to $49.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised Century Communities from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on Century Communities in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Century Communities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.25.

Insider Activity at Century Communities

In other news, Chairman Dale Francescon sold 100,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman owned 561,662 shares in the company, valued at $40,686,795.28. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Communities

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Century Communities by 207.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 609 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 175.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Century Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Century Communities by 1,513.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,210 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Century Communities by 37.3% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,644 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. 99.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Communities Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $62.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.56.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $789.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.12 million. Century Communities had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 6.87%. Century Communities's revenue was down 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Century Communities, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Century Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Century Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Century Communities's payout ratio is presently 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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