Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $57.86 and last traded at $58.77, with a volume of 343604 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Century Communities in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Century Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Century Communities from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $97.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Century Communities Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.76.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $0.33. Century Communities had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 7.59%. Analysts forecast that Century Communities, Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Century Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Century Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Century Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.15%.

Institutional Trading of Century Communities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Century Communities by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,120,495 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $82,200,000 after buying an additional 450,914 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Century Communities by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 679,307 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,834,000 after acquiring an additional 230,113 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Century Communities by 660.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 202,518 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,857,000 after acquiring an additional 175,887 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Communities by 10,656.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 105,951 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,109,000 after purchasing an additional 104,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Century Communities by 140.2% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 177,413 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,015,000 after purchasing an additional 103,564 shares during the period. 99.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.