Phocas Financial Corp. Decreases Stock Holdings in Tri Pointe Homes Inc. (NYSE:TPH)

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. has reduced its holdings in Tri Pointe Homes Inc. by 5.5%, now owning approximately $6.61 million worth of shares.
• Tri Pointe Homes has announced a stock repurchase plan allowing the company to buy back up to $50 million in shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.
• The company's most recent earnings exceeded expectations, with a reported $0.77 EPS against an estimate of $0.66, despite a 22.3% drop in revenue year-over-year.

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its holdings in shares of Tri Pointe Homes Inc. (NYSE:TPH - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,951 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 11,951 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. owned about 0.23% of Tri Pointe Homes worth $6,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Tri Pointe Homes by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 735,026 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,652,000 after purchasing an additional 158,246 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Tri Pointe Homes during the 4th quarter worth $14,815,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Tri Pointe Homes by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,815 shares of the construction company's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Tri Pointe Homes by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,563 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Tri Pointe Homes by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 721,850 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,174,000 after buying an additional 9,177 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on TPH shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Tri Pointe Homes from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research lowered Tri Pointe Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Sunday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Tri Pointe Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Tri Pointe Homes in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.80.

Tri Pointe Homes Stock Performance

Tri Pointe Homes stock traded up $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $33.08. 167,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,039,921. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Tri Pointe Homes Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.90 and a twelve month high of $46.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.17.

Tri Pointe Homes (NYSE:TPH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.11. Tri Pointe Homes had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The company had revenue of $884.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.77 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Tri Pointe Homes Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Tri Pointe Homes declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Tri Pointe Homes Company Profile

Tri Pointe Homes, Inc engages in the design, construction, and sale of single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through a portfolio of six regional home building brands comprising Maracay in Arizona; Pardee Homes in California and Nevada; Quadrant Homes in Washington; Trendmaker Homes in Texas; TRI Pointe Homes in California, Colorado, and the Carolinas; and Winchester Homes in Maryland and Northern Virginia.