Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the December 15th total of 1,850,000 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 338,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Century Communities Stock Performance

Shares of CCS stock opened at $75.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. Century Communities has a fifty-two week low of $68.49 and a fifty-two week high of $108.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 1.91.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.16. Century Communities had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Century Communities will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Century Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Century Communities’s payout ratio is currently 10.37%.

Institutional Trading of Century Communities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 89,310 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 9.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 544,407 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,063,000 after acquiring an additional 49,256 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 3.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,480 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,819,000 after acquiring an additional 16,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 490,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,502,000 after acquiring an additional 51,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 11.8% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 435,966 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,896,000 after acquiring an additional 46,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on Century Communities from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Century Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Century Communities from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Century Communities in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.