Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Technical: Shares of Forestar Group (FOR) climbed above its 200‑day moving average of $26.21, trading as high as $27.63 and last at $27.12 on volume of about 125,470 shares.
• Analyst sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $38 and kept a Buy, but the consensus from six analysts is a "Hold" with an average price target of $32.67 (two Buys, four Holds).
• Fundamentals/earnings: Forestar reported Q1 EPS of $0.63, missing the $0.72 estimate while revenue rose 6.6% to $374.3M; the company has a $1.38B market cap and a P/E of 8.27, with analysts forecasting ~3.06 EPS for the year.

Shares of Forestar Group Inc (NYSE:FOR - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $26.21 and traded as high as $27.63. Forestar Group shares last traded at $27.12, with a volume of 125,470 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FOR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Forestar Group from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Forestar Group in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Forestar Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Forestar Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Forestar Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Forestar Group Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.21.

Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.09). Forestar Group had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $374.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Forestar Group Inc will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forestar Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Forestar Group by 1,206.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 993 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Forestar Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Forestar Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Comerica Bank raised its position in Forestar Group by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,269 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Forestar Group in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.50% of the company's stock.

About Forestar Group

Forestar Group Inc, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a residential lot development and management company focused on delivering finished home sites to homebuilders across the United States. The company acquires, entitles and develops land for single-family and multi-family housing, managing zoning, infrastructure and environmental approvals to prepare lots for construction. Forestar's integrated approach to land development spans from initial site acquisition through final lot delivery, providing homebuilders with ready-to-build parcels in a variety of markets.

In addition to lot development, Forestar operates a retail homebuilding segment through joint ventures and strategic partnerships with national and regional homebuilders.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.