Short Interest in Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) Increases By 8.1%

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Century Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of Century Communities in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Century Communities in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Century Communities Stock Up 0.8 %

CCS opened at $75.24 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Century Communities has a twelve month low of $68.49 and a twelve month high of $108.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 1.92.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $0.33. Century Communities had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 7.59%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Century Communities will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Century Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Century Communities’s payout ratio is 10.00%.

Institutional Trading of Century Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCS. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Century Communities by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 544,407 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $56,063,000 after acquiring an additional 49,256 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Century Communities by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,480 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,819,000 after purchasing an additional 16,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 51,021 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Century Communities by 11.8% in the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 435,966 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,896,000 after buying an additional 46,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 worth $37,302,000 after buying an additional 295,729 shares during the period. 99.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.