Homebuilders Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) and D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2012 earnings this morning.

For the quarter, Beazer posted a net loss of $2.82 per share on revenues of $371 million. In the same period a year ago, the company reported a net loss of $2.91 per share on revenues of $334.9 million. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for a loss of $1.22 per share and $335.11 million in revenues.

For the full year, Beazer posted a net loss of $7.87 per share on revenues of $1 billion. In 2011, the company’s per-share loss totaled $13.84 on revenues of $742 million. The consensus estimate called for a net loss of $5.57 per share on revenues of $969.27 million.

For its fourth quarter, D.R. Horton posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.30 on revenues of $1.3 billion. In the same period a year ago, Horton posted EPS of $0.11 on revenues of $1.1 billion. The consensus estimate called for EPS of $0.28 on revenues of $1.35 billion. For the fiscal year, Horton posted EPS of $2.77 on $4.2 billion in revenue. In 2011 the company posted EPS of $0.23 on revenues of $3.5 billion. The consensus estimate called for EPS of $2.78 on revenues of $4.3 billion.

D.R. Horton’s chairman noted that the company is entering the new fiscal year “with our highest year-end backlog since fiscal 2007.” Beazer’s CEO said that in 2013 his company expects “to meaningfully improve our EBITDA, primarily by achieving margin expansion and further improvement in our sales per community metrics.”

Beazer said it expects its “community count will likely decrease for much of the year, which we expect to deliver closings starting in fiscal year 2014.” That sounds like another year of trouble for the company. The consensus estimate for 2013 calls for a net loss of $3.13 per share on revenues of $1.27 billion. The company executed a 1-for-5 reverse stock split in mid-October.

Horton offered no guidance either, but the consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.91 on revenues of $5.32 billion. That EPS estimate almost certainly will be adjusted upward given today’s report.

Beazer is inactive in premarket trading but closed at $16.64 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $3.46 to $20.15. Horton is up about 3.5% to $21.33, in a 52-week range of $10.75 to $22.79. The consensus target price for Beazer shares was around $16.00 before today’s report, and the target price for Horton was near $20.60.

Paul Ausick

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