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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the construction company's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI downgraded M.D.C. from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of M.D.C. in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, M.D.C. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.13.

M.D.C. Price Performance

MDC stock remained flat at $62.98 during midday trading on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.66. M.D.C. has a 52-week low of $36.47 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.92, a current ratio of 9.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David E. Blackford sold 6,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 $848,446.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M.D.C.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of M.D.C. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 34,954 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,931,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of M.D.C. by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,308 shares of the construction company's stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Arden Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of M.D.C. by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Arden Trust Co now owns 4,570 shares of the construction company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in M.D.C. by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 640 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in M.D.C. by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. 88.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

M.D.C. Company Profile

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.