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

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the December 15th total of 1,850,000 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 338,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Century Communities Stock Performance

Shares of CCS traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $75.91. The company had a trading volume of 412,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,869. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.74. Century Communities has a 52-week low of $68.49 and a 52-week high of $108.42.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.16. Century Communities had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Century Communities’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Century Communities will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Century Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Century Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CCS shares. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Century Communities in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Century Communities from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Century Communities from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Century Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th.

Institutional Trading of Century Communities

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Century Communities by 19.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 133,248 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 21,528 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Century Communities by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,831 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Century Communities by 14.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,077 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Century Communities during the second quarter valued at about $624,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Century Communities by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,181 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.54% of the company’s stock.

Century Communities Company Profile

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.