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

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Beazer Homes USA in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $41.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Beazer Homes USA in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beazer Homes USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Beazer Homes USA by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,278 shares of the construction company's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 4,299 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beazer Homes USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,174,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Beazer Homes USA by 14.5% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 265,401 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,412,000 after purchasing an additional 33,540 shares during the period. GHE LLC increased its stake in Beazer Homes USA by 1.2% in the first quarter. GHE LLC now owns 70,637 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Beazer Homes USA in the 1st quarter valued at $2,210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.65% of the company's stock.

Beazer Homes USA Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 15.52. The firm has a market cap of $634.27 million, a P/E ratio of 5.33, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 2.20. The stock's 50-day moving average is $20.39 and its 200 day moving average is $25.95.

Beazer Homes USA Company Profile

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.