D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) Short Interest Up 12.4% in September

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,510,000 shares, an increase of 12.4% from the August 31st total of 4,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

D.R. Horton Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of DHI traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,550,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,485,805. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $183.35 and its 200 day moving average is $160.69. The firm has a market cap of $62.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 7.22 and a quick ratio of 1.30. D.R. Horton has a 1 year low of $100.08 and a 1 year high of $199.85.

D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The construction company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $9.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.61 billion. D.R. Horton had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 20.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that D.R. Horton will post 14.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

D.R. Horton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. D.R. Horton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.17%.

D.R. Horton announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DHI. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in D.R. Horton by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,186 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of D.R. Horton by 1.2% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,245 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in D.R. Horton by 1.7% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,693 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in D.R. Horton by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 8,878 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in D.R. Horton by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 23,770 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 90.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DHI shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of D.R. Horton from $196.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of D.R. Horton from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on D.R. Horton from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on D.R. Horton from $168.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on D.R. Horton from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, D.R. Horton has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.33.

D.R. Horton Company Profile

D.R. Horton, Inc operates as a homebuilding company in East, North, Southeast, South Central, Southwest, and Northwest regions in the United States. It engages in the acquisition and development of land; and construction and sale of residential homes in 118 markets across 33 states under the names of D.R.