D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,330,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the March 31st total of 4,990,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at D.R. Horton

In related news, insider David V. Auld sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.33, for a total value of $3,908,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 773,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,862,005.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider David V. Auld sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.33, for a total transaction of $3,908,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 773,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,862,005.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barbara K. Allen sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.46, for a total transaction of $53,890.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,799. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,812 shares of company stock worth $4,029,217. 1.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On D.R. Horton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of D.R. Horton by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 3,547,948 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $539,217,000 after buying an additional 34,366 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of D.R. Horton during the 4th quarter valued at about $516,530,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of D.R. Horton by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,389,414 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $364,260,000 after purchasing an additional 104,453 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of D.R. Horton by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,254,275 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $349,737,000 after purchasing an additional 106,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in D.R. Horton by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,714,195 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $412,503,000 after purchasing an additional 484,058 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DHI. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of D.R. Horton in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of D.R. Horton from $166.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of D.R. Horton from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of D.R. Horton from $186.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on D.R. Horton from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.06.

D.R. Horton Trading Up 0.2 %

D.R. Horton stock opened at $142.48 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.14. D.R. Horton has a 52-week low of $100.08 and a 52-week high of $165.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 7.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The construction company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.44. D.R. Horton had a return on equity of 21.32% and a net margin of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that D.R. Horton will post 14.31 earnings per share for the current year.

D.R. Horton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. D.R. Horton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.17%.

About D.R. Horton

D.R. Horton, Inc operates as a homebuilding company in East, North, Southeast, South Central, Southwest, and Northwest regions in the United States. It engages in the acquisition and development of land; and construction and sale of residential homes in 118 markets across 33 states under the names of D.R.