Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) Stock Jumps 6.5% – Still a Buy?

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS)’s share price was up 6.5% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $57.63 and last traded at $57.8340. Approximately 30,983 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 288,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CCS shares. Zacks Research cut Century Communities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Century Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Century Communities from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.00.

Century Communities Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.28.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.67. Century Communities had a return on equity of 6.06% and a net margin of 3.41%. The company had revenue of $927.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Century Communities, Inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Century Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. Century Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Century Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $637,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in Century Communities by 7.4% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 3,659 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Sacks & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Century Communities during the third quarter worth $442,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Century Communities by 287.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 430 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Century Communities by 97.2% in the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 7,414 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares during the last quarter. 99.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Century Communities

Century Communities, Inc (NYSE: CCS) is a residential homebuilder that designs, develops and constructs single-family detached and attached homes for a range of homebuyers, including first-time, move-up and active-adult buyers. The company sells homes under the Century Communities and Century Complete brands, offering a variety of floor plans, home features and community amenities.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Century Communities operates in numerous housing markets across the Western, Southern and Southeastern United States.