StockNews.com Begins Coverage on M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the construction company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of M.D.C. in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI cut shares of M.D.C. from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $57.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, M.D.C. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.13.

M.D.C. Stock Performance

MDC traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.93. 1,979,593 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,856,443. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.54. M.D.C. has a 1 year low of $36.47 and a 1 year high of $63.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 9.76 and a quick ratio of 3.92.

M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. M.D.C. had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that M.D.C. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at M.D.C.

In related news, Director David E. Blackford sold 6,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.69, for a total value of $388,678.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $848,446.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 23.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of M.D.C.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in M.D.C. in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,232,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC acquired a new position in M.D.C. in the 4th quarter valued at about $992,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in M.D.C. by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 898,855 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $49,662,000 after acquiring an additional 168,214 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al grew its position in M.D.C. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 117,754 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,855,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in M.D.C. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,803,000. 88.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About M.D.C.

M.DC Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the homebuilding and financial service businesses. Its homebuilding operations include purchasing finished lots or developing lots for the construction and sale primarily of single-family detached homes to first-time and first-time move-up homebuyers under the Richmond American Homes name.