Category Archives: Consumer Discretionary
A Solid First Half for Housing and the Builders
A typical analysis from policy makers, like the Federal Reserve, points out that activity in the housing market has declined so far this year; but that assertion focuses primarily on housing starts. A more complete picture from the national data … Continue reading
An Update on Bed Bath & Beyond
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond have sold off sharply in recent weeks, but the stock is exceptionally cheap vs. its peers. If new leadership can accelerate the company’s transformation plan successfully, the shares have significant upside potential. The article explores both risks and opportunities for Bed Bath & Beyond as it enters the next phase of its transformation plan. Continue reading
Impairments Spark a Sell-Off, But Position BZH for an Earnings Rebound
Beazer Homes (BZH) reported a fiscal 2019 second quarter loss of $3.28 per share, compared with earnings of $0.36 per share in the comparable prior year quarter. The loss included a large impairment charge and a much smaller gain on … Continue reading
Meritage Homes (MTH) 18Q1 Results
Meritage reported 18Q1 diluted EPS of $0.65 per share, down from $1.07 last year, but a penny ahead of consensus estimates. Home closing revenue declined 4% to $698.7 million, as a 2% increase in unit closings was more than offset … Continue reading
PulteGroup (PHM) 18Q1 Results
PulteGroup reported first quarter earnings of $166.8 million or $0.59 per share, even with a year ago, but still well ahead of the consensus estimate. Revenues were just short of $2.0 billion, up 1.4% from the prior year. Unit closings … Continue reading
Housing Market Update – February 2019
The outlook for housing (or more precisely, sentiment about the outlook for housing) has improved in recent weeks, primarily because of the decline in mortgage rates. The average rate on the 30-year mortgage has fallen by 57 basis points (bp) … Continue reading
Acme United Battles the Headwinds
2018 was a rough year for investors in Acme United Corporation’s (ACU) stock, including CEO Walter Johnsen who owns 15% of the outstanding shares. ACU’s 2018 total return was -38%, worse than the Zack’s Micro Cap Index’s 17% decline. The … Continue reading
Questions About ESL’s Debt Reduction Proposal for Sears
On Sept. 23, in a 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ESL Investments attached a proposal that it had made to Sears Holding (SHLD) that would reduce SHLD’s total outstanding debt by 78% through a combination of asset … Continue reading
A Process of Adjustment for the Homebuilders
2018 has been rough for homebuilding stocks. The Lark Research Homebuilder Stock Index, which is an equal-weighted measure of the price performance of ten publicly-traded homebuilders, was down 19.9% year-to-date through August 3rd, far worse than the gains of 6.2% … Continue reading
StoneMor’s Unit Price Plummets as it Files its Delayed 10-K
Since peaking at $32.01 in July 2015, the MLP units of StoneMor Partners LP (STON) have lost nearly 90% of their value. The steepest part of the decline began in October 2016, just before STON cut its quarterly distribution in … Continue reading