Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $19.53, but opened at $21.40. Beazer Homes USA shares last traded at $20.89, with a volume of 261,380 shares traded.

The construction company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $565.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $543.60 million. Beazer Homes USA had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BZH shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Beazer Homes USA in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Beazer Homes USA in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beazer Homes USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. acquired a new position in Beazer Homes USA during the fourth quarter worth about $275,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Beazer Homes USA by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 25,082 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 5,235 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Beazer Homes USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,149,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Beazer Homes USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $304,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Beazer Homes USA by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 105,306 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,892,000 after buying an additional 25,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Beazer Homes USA Trading Up 9.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $664.94 million, a PE ratio of 5.42, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.17. The company has a current ratio of 15.52, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

About Beazer Homes USA

Beazer Homes USA, Inc operates as a homebuilder in the United States. It designs, constructs, and sells single-family and multi-family homes under the Beazer Homes, Gatherings, and Choice Plans names. The company also sells its homes through commissioned new home sales counselors and independent brokers in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Indiana, Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.