Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS - Free Report) by 87.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,396 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,371 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Century Communities were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CCS. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Century Communities by 8.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,114 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,837,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Century Communities by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Century Communities by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,313 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Century Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Century Communities by 125.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 32,139 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,358,000 after acquiring an additional 17,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.54% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elisa Z. Ramirez bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.68 per share, with a total value of $27,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,981 shares in the company, valued at $491,081.08. This represents a 5.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 2,400 shares of company stock valued at $130,426 in the last 90 days. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Century Communities Stock Down 0.5%

CCS stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $52.71. 41,313 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 460,018. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Century Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.07 and a fifty-two week high of $108.42. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.80.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $903.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.20 million. Century Communities had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 14.17%. Century Communities's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Century Communities, Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Century Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Century Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CCS. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Century Communities to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Century Communities from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.33.

About Century Communities

Century Communities, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, construction, marketing, and sale of single-family attached and detached homes. It is also involved in the entitlement and development of the underlying land; and provision of mortgage, title, and insurance services to its homebuyers.