Citizens Jmp Begins Coverage on Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR)

Equities research analysts at Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 15th, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $30.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company's stock. Citizens Jmp's price target indicates a potential upside of 24.25% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on FOR. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Forestar Group from $36.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Forestar Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.20.

Forestar Group Stock Up 9.4%

Shares of FOR stock traded up $2.07 on Tuesday, hitting $24.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 441,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,663. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Forestar Group has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $34.82. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $20.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.40.

Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $390.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $397.50 million. Forestar Group had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Forestar Group will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elizabeth Parmer sold 1,460 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.57, for a total transaction of $30,032.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,053.49. This represents a 30.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forestar Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Forestar Group by 263,300.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,170 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 13,165 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Forestar Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Forestar Group by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 114,372 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 15,395 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Forestar Group by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 39,035 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 20,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Forestar Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Institutional investors own 35.50% of the company's stock.

About Forestar Group

Forestar Group Inc operates as a residential lot development company in the United States. The company acquires land and develops infrastructure for single-family residential communities. It sells its residential single-family finished lots to local, regional, and national homebuilders. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Arlington, Texas.