Short Interest in Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) Grows By 19.0%

Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 539,900 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the January 15th total of 453,700 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 160,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FOR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Forestar Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Forestar Group from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Forestar Group from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Forestar Group news, CEO Anthony W. Oxley purchased 4,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.14 per share, for a total transaction of $99,502.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,502. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Forestar Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 360,471 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $11,668,000 after purchasing an additional 43,369 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Forestar Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 330,462 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $8,566,000 after buying an additional 12,473 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Forestar Group by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,622 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 9,733 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Forestar Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,296,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Forestar Group by 73.5% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 62,237 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 26,360 shares in the last quarter. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Forestar Group Stock Performance

NYSE:FOR traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.16. The stock had a trading volume of 144,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,300. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.74. Forestar Group has a 12-month low of $22.42 and a 12-month high of $40.92.

Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $250.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $318.00 million. Forestar Group had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 12.50%. The company's revenue was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Forestar Group will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Forestar Group Company Profile

Forestar Group Inc operates as a residential lot development company in the United States. The company acquires land and develops infrastructure for single-family residential communities. It sells its residential single-family finished lots to local, regional, and national homebuilders. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Arlington, Texas.