KBH.. beat by 8 but dropped today on erroneous report of weaker earnings next quarter. Look for it to recover. Today's stock reaction doesn't live up to the report below.. It recovered half its loss today already. Good buying opportunity, BUT wait for the change of trend to be established, something else could still be awry here.
Kaufman & Broad Continues Earnings Surge With 85% 3rd-Quarter Rise,
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Kaufman & Broad Home Corp. continued its hot streak of strong quarterly earnings Tuesday, as it posted an 85% increase in fiscal third-quarter net income Tuesday.
The results reflect what analysts expect should be a continuation of an ongoing trend in the home-building industry.
Home builders, reaping the benefits of low interest rates, a healthy economy, good job growth and surging consumer confidence, have been on a tear over the past year, reporting robust earnings and record orders for new homes. In the first two quarters of 1998, most exceeded Wall Street expectations quite handsomely, thanks to strong demand, fewer sales incentives and rising house prices.
"They've been delivering great numbers," said Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Bob Curran last month, who said he expects the trend to continue through the rest of 1998 and well into 1999. Los Angeles-based Kaufman & Broad (KBH) credited a higher number of unit deliveries and improved gross margins for its strong results in the latest quarter.
The company reported that net income for the quarter ending Aug. 31 rose to $28.1 million, or 68 cents a diluted share, from $15.1 million, or 38 cents a share, a year ago.
The latest quarter's per-share results were eight cents above the mean estimate of analysts, according to a survey by First Call.
In the first and second quarters of 1998, Kaufman & Broad's earnings easily topped Wall Street estimates.
Third-quarter revenue rose 40% from a year ago to $659.0 million, compared with $469.2 million.
The company said it had an order backlog of $1.1 billion, or 7,630 units, as of Aug. 31. That was up from $777.7 million, or 5,040 units a year ago. |
