Gratia Capital Engaged In Prosperous Love Affair With Micro-Cap Real Estate Companies Like LGI Homes Inc (LGIH)

During the first three months of the year, Gratia reduced its holding in Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) by 9% to 780,300 shares valued at $12.31 million. The current stake represents 2.32% of the $452 million real estate and oil & gas company’s outstanding shares. Shares of Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) have slumped by more than 12% year-to-date. In contrast, the general real estate industry is up by 7.71% during the same period. It is not just the low oil & gas prices that have weighed heavily on the company’s performance; earnings from the real estate segment during the first quarter stood at $9.1 million, down from $14.5 million at the end of the same quarter last year. The main reason for this was a decline in undeveloped land and residential lot sales. Within our database, Jeffrey Bronchick‘s Cove Street Capital is the largest stockholder of Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR), holding some 2.19 million shares valued at $34.46 million.

After an 8% boost in its stake in LGI Homes Inc (NASDAQ:LGIH) during the first quarter, Gratia held about 692,100 shares valued at $11.53 million of the $368 million homebuilding company operating in Texas, Arizona, Florida and Georgia. The holding represents nearly 3.5% of LGI Homes Inc (NASDAQ:LGIH)’s outstanding common stock. So far this year, the company’s stock has surged by almost 25%. The hedge fund interest in the company, among those that we track, has remained stable during the quarter as six firms had an aggregate investment of $30.84 million in LGI Homes at the end of March as compared to six funds with $25.24 million at the end of the previous quarter. Geoffrey Raynor’s Scepter Holdings is the largest stockholder among these firms, owning about 763,100 shares valued at $12.71 million.

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