52-Week Lows: Housing Stocks (BZH, DHI, PHM, XHB, LEN, CTX, TOL) (July 26, 2007)

This morning we saw earnings out of some of the key homebuilder stocks.  These numbers are almost immaterial as they are sloppy and results are all over the place and as no one is positive on these anymore, but as you could tell by the headline these names are gapping down to new recent lows.

Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH) is seeing shares down over 5% in pre-market trading to $16.15. Its prior year low was $16.56. Revenue was down 37%, new orders are down 30% and cancellations are running a new high of 36%.

D.R.Horton (NYSE:DHI) is also trading down almost 3% at $16.97 pre-market; its previous yearly low was $17.03.  The company posted a loss, although after disclosing $1 Billion in charges this a given after it earlier disclosed a 40% drop in new hme sales.

Pulte Homes inc. (NYSE:PHM) has not yet traded today, although shares closed within 3% of the $20.11 year-low yesterday at $20.67.  Pulte posted a $507.6 million loss to $2.01 versus -$2.06 estimates.  The company took $750 million in charges related mostly to land inventory right-downs.

Perhaps the best way to look at these homebuilders as a group is via the SPDR Homebuilders ETF (AMEX:XHB).  These are indicated down at $27.25 to $27.40 pre-market, and $27.43 is its yearly low.  If the "XHB" keeps putting in lows then most of the individual homebuilder stocks are too.

Elsewhere, shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) are still about 2% above their 52-week lows of $31.05.  Centex (NYSE:CTX) shares are still about 2% above the $38.50 lows.  Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) are indicated down almost 2% at $23.10 pre-market, just above the prior $23.02 prior 52-week low.

As you can tell, the carnage continues.

Jon C. Ogg
July 26, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at [email protected]; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.