Magnetar Financial LLC Buys New Holdings in Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,039 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Century Communities by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,778 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Century Communities by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,313 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Century Communities by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Century Communities during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Century Communities by 336.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 738 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. 99.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Century Communities from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Century Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Century Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Century Communities in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Century Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Century Communities Price Performance

Shares of CCS stock opened at $68.60 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.98 and its 200-day moving average is $84.04. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 2.10. Century Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $108.42.

Century Communities (NYSE:CCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Century Communities, Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Century Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Century Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Century Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.15%.

Century Communities 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.