Zacks Research Downgrades Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded Century Communities from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating, reflecting a more pessimistic outlook on the company's stock performance.
• Despite the downgrade, the company has reported a quarterly earnings beat, with an EPS of $1.37, surpassing estimates of $1.16, although revenue declined by 1.7% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors maintain significant ownership, with 99.54% of the stock held by large investors, indicating continued confidence in the company despite recent challenges.

Zacks Research cut shares of Century Communities (NYSE:CCS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Century Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Century Communities in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Century Communities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Century Communities Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:CCS traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $64.19. 333,815 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.46. Century Communities has a 52-week low of $50.42 and a 52-week high of $108.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.95.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $910.70 million. Century Communities had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Century Communities's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Century Communities will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Century Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 27th. Century Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Communities

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCS. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Century Communities by 49.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 142,181 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $8,008,000 after purchasing an additional 46,750 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Century Communities by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,341,781 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $75,569,000 after purchasing an additional 282,133 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Century Communities by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 91,598 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Century Communities by 562.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,907 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Century Communities by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,815 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares in the last quarter. 99.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Century Communities

Century Communities, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, construction, marketing, and sale of single-family attached and detached homes. It is also involved in the entitlement and development of the underlying land; and provision of mortgage, title, and insurance services to its homebuyers.