Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR) Shares Up 5.3% – What’s Next?

Forestar Group Inc (NYSE:FOR)’s share price was up 5.3% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $26.01 and last traded at $26.0350. Approximately 3,241 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 153,115 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FOR. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Forestar Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Forestar Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.67.

Forestar Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.11). Forestar Group had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $407.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Forestar Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Forestar Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in Forestar Group by 22.7% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 10,870 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Forestar Group by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 27,226 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Forestar Group by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,941 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Forestar Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,269,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Forestar Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $723,000. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Forestar Group

Forestar Group Inc (NYSE:FOR) is a residential lot development company that acquires, entitles and develops land for single-family and, in some markets, mixed-use communities. The company generally sells finished or partially developed residential lots to homebuilders rather than constructing homes for individual buyers.

Forestar’s activities include land acquisition, planning and entitlement, infrastructure development, and the management of residential development projects. Its lots are intended to support a range of housing types and price points, and the company works with national, regional and local homebuilders across its operating markets.

The company operates in multiple markets throughout the United States.