StockNews.com Begins Coverage on M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC) in a research note published on Sunday. The firm issued a hold rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Raymond James reissued a market perform rating on shares of M.D.C. in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI cut shares of M.D.C. from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and upped their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, M.D.C. presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $52.13.

M.D.C. Stock Performance

Shares of M.D.C. stock opened at $62.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.54. M.D.C. has a 52-week low of $36.47 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.05. The company has a quick ratio of 3.92, a current ratio of 9.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David E. Blackford sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.69, for a total value of $388,678.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $848,446.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On M.D.C.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MDC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of M.D.C. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,043,852 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $389,173,000 after acquiring an additional 59,151 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of M.D.C. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,653,841 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $312,377,000 after purchasing an additional 98,369 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of M.D.C. by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,492,733 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $137,723,000 after buying an additional 940,810 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of M.D.C. by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,520,024 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $83,981,000 after buying an additional 27,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of M.D.C. by 30.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 925,602 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,163,000 after buying an additional 218,647 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.08% of the company’s stock.

M.D.C. Company Profile

M.DC Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the homebuilding and financial service businesses. Its homebuilding operations include purchasing finished lots or developing lots for the construction and sale primarily of single-family detached homes to first-time and first-time move-up homebuyers under the Richmond American Homes name.