Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) Short Interest Up 37.0% in December

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,850,000 shares, a growth of 37.0% from the November 30th total of 1,350,000 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 315,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Century Communities Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Century Communities stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.88. 211,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,630. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 1.87. 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 1 year low of $71.95 and a 1 year high of $108.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.06 and its 200 day moving average is $91.46.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Century Communities had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 7.44%. Century Communities’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Century Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Communities

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CCS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 206,798 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $21,296,000 after acquiring an additional 10,453 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Century Communities by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 490,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,502,000 after purchasing an additional 51,021 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Century Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $340,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Century Communities by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,114 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,837,000 after buying an additional 5,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Century Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,061,000. 99.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.