ConocoPhillips: A Cautionary Tale from the Oil Patch

ConocoPhillips (COP) announced Q4 and full year 2015 financial results on the morning of February 4, 2016. The news included a capitulation to the on-going deterioration of business conditions in the oil patch: COP slashed its dividend by two-thirds: “ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) today announced it is taking actions to maintain its strong balance sheet in … Read more

Tri Pointe Group Puts Its Balance Sheet On the Line

In its Q3 2015 earnings report, TRI Pointe Group, Inc. (TPH) reported $97.0M in cash and cash equivalents. Thanks to real estate inventories, total assets come to $3.1B. Source: TRI Pointe Group, Inc. On January 27, 2016, TPH decided to put that balance sheet on the line by authorizing a buyback of $100M that is … Read more

LGI Homes Reports A Strong December And Takes the Edge off Recent Sell-Off

At the end of 2015, I wrote about the critical tests facing LGI Homes (LGIH). After another strong monthly closing report, LGIH seems more likely to pass the test of financial performance in coming earnings reports, but the technical test remains in place. LGIH reported record results for a single month in December, 2015: 433 … Read more

LGI Homes Faces Critical Tests As It Races to Reduce Dependence On Oil-Related Markets

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 29, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) In mid-September, I wrote “LGI Homes Is Now A Bit Hot To The Touch.” LGI Homes (LGIH) is down 18% since then. LGIH also hit an all-time high on December 1st … Read more