Yahoo Finance Is Now The Time To Put Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH) On Your Watchlist?
It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. Unfortunately, high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson.
So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath.
See our latest analysis for Beazer Homes USA
Beazer Homes USA's Improving Profits
In business, though not in life, profits are a key measure of success; and share prices tend to reflect earnings per share (EPS). So like the hint of a smile on a face that I love, growing EPS generally makes me look twice. It is therefore awe-striking that Beazer Homes USA's EPS went from US$1.05 to US$3.27 in just one year. Even though that growth rate is unlikely to be repeated, that looks like a breakout improvement.
I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. While revenue is looking a bit flat, the good news is EBIT margins improved by 2.4 percentage points to 6.1%, in the last twelve months. That's something to smile about.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.
Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Beazer Homes USA's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.
Are Beazer Homes USA Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It makes me feel more secure owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, thusly more closely aligning our interests. So it is good to see that Beazer Homes USA insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. To be specific, they have US$27m worth of shares. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. Even though that's only about 5.0% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.
Is Beazer Homes USA Worth Keeping An Eye On?
Beazer Homes USA's earnings have taken off like any random crypto-currency did, back in 2017. That EPS growth certainly has my attention, and the large insider ownership only serves to further stoke my interest. The hope is, of course, that the strong growth marks a fundamental improvement in the business economics. So yes, on this short analysis I do think it's worth considering Beazer Homes USA for a spot on your watchlist. We should say that we've discovered 1 warning sign for Beazer Homes USA that you should be aware of before investing here.
Of course, you can do well (sometimes) buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But as a growth investor I always like to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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