Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 21,519 Shares of Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 338,952 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 21,519 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Forestar Group worth $8,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Forestar Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 330,462 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $8,566,000 after purchasing an additional 12,473 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Forestar Group in the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Forestar Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,296,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Forestar Group during the 4th quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Forestar Group during the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. Institutional investors own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FOR. StockNews.com upgraded Forestar Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Forestar Group from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Forestar Group from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Forestar Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FOR opened at $22.00 on Friday. Forestar Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.96 and a 52-week high of $40.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.46.

Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $250.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.00 million. Forestar Group had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 11.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Forestar Group Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Anthony W. Oxley acquired 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.14 per share, with a total value of $99,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,502. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Forestar Group

Forestar Group Inc operates as a residential lot development company in the United States. The company acquires land and develops infrastructure for single-family residential communities. It sells its residential single-family finished lots to local, regional, and national homebuilders. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Arlington, Texas.