Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CCS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Century Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Century Communities from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Century Communities in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Century Communities in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered Century Communities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $75.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Century Communities Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CCS traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.58. The company had a trading volume of 33,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,582. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.29. Century Communities has a 1-year low of $50.42 and a 1-year high of $76.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $789.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.12 million. Century Communities had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 3.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Century Communities will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Century Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Century Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Century Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Communities

In other news, Chairman Dale Francescon sold 100,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $7,251,244.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 561,662 shares in the company, valued at $40,686,795.28. The trade was a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 13.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Century Communities by 6.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,837 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Century Communities by 138.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,831 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,820,000 after buying an additional 41,653 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Century Communities by 3.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,429 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Century Communities by 1,513.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,210 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Century Communities by 16.7% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the period. 99.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Century Communities Company Profile

Century Communities, Inc is a national homebuilder and land developer headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The company is engaged in the acquisition, development, construction and sale of single- and multi-family residential homes, offering a range of floor plans and design options to homebuyers. In addition to its core homebuilding activities, Century Communities provides ancillary services such as mortgage financing, title and closing services, and insurance products through its wholly owned subsidiaries, aiming to deliver a comprehensive homebuying experience.

Founded in 2009, Century Communities rapidly expanded through both organic growth and strategic land acquisitions, positioning itself in high-growth markets across the United States.