LGI Homes (NASDAQ:LGIH) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

LGI Homes, Inc. (NASDAQ:LGIH)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $47.31, but opened at $50.27. LGI Homes shares last traded at $50.93, with a volume of 43,093 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LGIH. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of LGI Homes in a report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LGI Homes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LGI Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LGI Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LGI Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.75.

LGI Homes Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.10. The company has a current ratio of 18.56, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

LGI Homes (NASDAQ:LGIH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.22. LGI Homes had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 3.80%. The company had revenue of $319.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $328.22 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that LGI Homes, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Charles Michael Merdian sold 7,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.04, for a total value of $303,150.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,501.60. This trade represents a 25.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Larry Snider sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.04, for a total transaction of $252,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 175,556 shares in the company, valued at $7,380,374.24. This represents a 3.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,451 shares of company stock valued at $943,840. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LGI Homes

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in shares of LGI Homes by 5.4% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,087,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,980,000 after acquiring an additional 55,465 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of LGI Homes by 45.5% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 28,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 8,863 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of LGI Homes by 27.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 99,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,927,000 after acquiring an additional 21,523 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of LGI Homes by 10.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LGI Homes by 2.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919 shares during the last quarter. 84.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LGI Homes Company Profile

LGI Homes, Inc (NASDAQ: LGIH) is a residential homebuilder primarily focused on serving first-time and first-time move-up homebuyers in the United States. The company specializes in the acquisition, development and sale of affordable single-family homes and townhomes. LGI Homes operates through an integrated model that encompasses land sourcing, lot development, home construction, and post-closing customer support including warranty services.

In addition to its core homebuilding activities, LGI Homes offers ancillary services to streamline the homebuying process for its customers.