Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Position in NVR, Inc. $NVR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its NVR stake by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,313 shares and ending with 20,068 shares worth about $146.4 million.
• NVR reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $67.76 and revenue of $1.91 billion, both below analyst estimates, with revenue down 21.7% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $750 million share repurchase program, while analysts currently hold a mixed but cautious view with an overall Hold consensus and a $7,649.33 target price.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,068 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,313 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.71% of NVR worth $146,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NVR during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,610,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in NVR by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,307 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $484,546,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in NVR in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,017,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in NVR by 17.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,370 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,181,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in NVR by 669.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,232 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,863,000 after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NVR Stock Performance

Shares of NVR opened at $6,152.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.19, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $6,370.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7,055.28. NVR, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5,501.01 and a 12-month high of $8,618.28.

NVR (NYSE:NVR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $67.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $79.97 by ($12.21). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. NVR had a return on equity of 32.66% and a net margin of 12.93%.The business's revenue was down 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $94.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that NVR, Inc. will post 375.15 EPS for the current year.

NVR declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on NVR shares. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $5,664.00 price target on shares of NVR in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of NVR from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $7,675.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of NVR from $8,600.00 to $8,225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NVR from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NVR from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7,649.33.

Insider Activity

In other NVR news, Director Michael J. Devito bought 11 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6,699.50 per share, for a total transaction of $73,694.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,487.50. The trade was a 78.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

NVR Profile

NVR, Inc is a U.S.-based homebuilding and mortgage banking company that designs, constructs and sells single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums. The company operates primarily through its homebuilding business and a mortgage banking subsidiary, providing financing and related closing services to its homebuyers. NVR's homebuilding activities include land development, community planning, model home sales and construction management aimed at a range of buyer demographics.

Its homes are marketed under recognizable regional brands, including Ryan Homes and NVHomes, along with other market-specific trade names, and are offered across multiple geographic markets in the United States.

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