Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) Short Interest Up 22.9% in September

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a growth of 22.9% from the August 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 321,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 5.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Century Communities Stock Performance

Century Communities stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $103.19. 20,158 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 304,246. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $98.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.53. Century Communities has a 12 month low of $58.01 and a 12 month high of $108.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Century Communities had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Century Communities will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Century Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Century Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Communities

In related news, Director John P. Box sold 11,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.07, for a total transaction of $1,128,989.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,127 shares in the company, valued at $4,515,858.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Robert J. Francescon sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.64, for a total transaction of $4,632,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 477,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,275,527.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Box sold 11,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.07, for a total transaction of $1,128,989.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,515,858.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Century Communities by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,033,874 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $196,269,000 after buying an additional 13,861 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Century Communities by 11.2% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 883,197 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,122,000 after buying an additional 89,310 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Century Communities by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 429,476 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,142,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Century Communities by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 339,697 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,960,000 after buying an additional 73,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Communities by 2.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 291,475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,895 shares in the last quarter. 99.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Century Communities from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Century Communities from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

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.