Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) Short Interest Up 8.1% in December

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) was the target of 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. Approximately 7.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 338,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Century Communities Price Performance

Shares of CCS traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.91. The company’s stock 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. Century Communities has a one year low of $68.49 and a one year high of $108.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.65.

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

Century Communities Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Century Communities

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Century Communities by 444.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 362,227 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,302,000 after purchasing an additional 295,729 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Century Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,419,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Century Communities by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 883,197 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $72,122,000 after buying an additional 89,310 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Century Communities by 84.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 143,771 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,740,000 after buying an additional 66,029 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in Century Communities by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 123,307 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,069,000 after acquiring an additional 57,341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.