Empire Life Investments Inc. Invests $5.39 Million in D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI)

Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 42,371 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,387,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in D.R. Horton in the first quarter worth $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of D.R. Horton by 340.4% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 251 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of D.R. Horton during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in D.R. Horton by 146.7% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 333 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in D.R. Horton during the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 90.63% of the company’s stock.

D.R. Horton Trading Up 5.2%

NYSE DHI opened at $150.23 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 7.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $44.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.21. D.R. Horton, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.44 and a 52 week high of $199.85.

D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. D.R. Horton had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 11.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that D.R. Horton, Inc. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

D.R. Horton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. D.R. Horton’s dividend payout ratio is 12.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael R. Buchanan sold 2,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $274,555.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,193 shares in the company, valued at $280,046.10. This represents a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DHI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of D.R. Horton from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on D.R. Horton from $171.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Their comments are based on a broader research note on Homebuilders ahead of the industry’s start of the earnings season. The firm is projecting a 7% decline in U.S. new home sales and a 27% average decline in earnings due to lower consumer confidence as a result of heightened uncertainty about the future in terms of both income/job security and cost of living along with still-relatively high interest rates. JMP Securities decreased their target price on D.R. Horton from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on D.R. Horton from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on D.R. Horton from $135.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.23.

D.R. Horton Profile

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.