Beazer Homes USA posted a profit in its first quarter, thanks to a healthy tax refund check. Otherwise, the builder would have lost roughly $50 million. Analysts aren't expecting that another revenue-boosting savior came along to push the company to profitability in its second quarter.
Beazer will report its second quarter results Tuesday, with a conference call to discuss the results planned for 10 a.m. that day.
The analysts' consensus is that the builder will lose $0.62 per share for its quarter ending March 30, with the lowest predicted loss at $0.43 per share and the highest at $1.11 per share.
However, maybe the stock market knows something the analysts don't. Beazer's shares have been trading at 52-week highs, climbing as high as $7 per share last week, quite a hike from the company's low of $1.36 per share last July.
Of course Beazer's story this year has been the lack of the story that mightily plagued the Atlanta-based builder for two years. It was able to resolve a federal investigation into mortgage fraud last summer, which unfettered the company from the investigative hobble that had limited its ability to respond to the downturn.
With most of the legal issues resolved, Beazer was able to restructure its considerable debt during the fall and winter. That and a cash stash, which sat at more than $500 million last quarter, put it in a position again to compete with the other large builders for land.
It's not likely to be an aggressive purchaser, though, unless prices are right. Executives said during Beazer's last conference call that it has enough finished lots to fuel its current growth and enough mothballed land to fuel future growth.
Of interest will be whether Beazer was able to capture increased sales from the home buyer tax credit-boosted spring selling season. Last quarter, the company had an increase in sales, though revenue was relatively flat because of lower sales prices.
