Chart Carnage: Home Builders Under Duress

When I decided to start writing a monthly summary of the status of the housing market, I had assumed that housing was going to remain in or settle into a general holding pattern. I assumed little was going to happen to the upside or the downside for a while. Under those conditions, it did not … 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

OPEC Slams the Oil Patch – A Quick Look At the Reverberations

On Friday, December 4, 2015, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) slammed the oil patch by adjourning without an agreement to put a cap on production. This quote from a Bloomberg article probably sums up the implications best: “‘It means more OPEC oil next year,’ Jamie Webster, a Washington-based oil analyst for IHS … Read more

Century Communities Earnings Weigh As Hiked 2015 Guidance Gets Revised

Century Communities, Inc. (CCS) reported third quarter earnings on the evening of November 5th at the tail-end of a particularly challenging time for the stock. Going into earnings, CCS was down 35% from its 52-week and all-time closing high set in early September. CCS is still up 7.5% for the year, but the recent earnings … Read more

A Breakout Performance And Increased Guidance Send LGI Homes Higher As Texas Delivers

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 6, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) In previous pieces covering homebuilders and housing, I have noted that my favorite plays in the space remain the regional builders. Regionals tend to have lower valuations with execution and growth … Read more

Why Home Builders Are Off to A Relatively Strong Start In 2015

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 9, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) It is still very early in the new year, but I cannot help notice the relative strength exhibited by iShares Trust – iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) and several major … Read more