The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: DR Horton, PulteGroup, Meritage Homes Corporation, Louisiana-Pacific and KB Home

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 18, 2011 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: DR Horton Inc. ( DHI - Analyst Report), PulteGroup, Inc. ( PHM - Analyst Report) Meritage Homes Corporation ( MTH - Snapshot Report) Louisiana-Pacific Corporation ( LPX - Snapshot Report) and KB Home ( KBH - Analyst Report).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Poor Housing Performance in July

The building industry continues to be weak despite the ongoing economic recovery in the U.S. Both housing starts and applications for building permits fell during July, indicating a slow pace of future home construction.

Housing starts in July fell 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000 as compared with the revised June rate of 613,000 housing starts. However, the drop was almost 4% from the originally reported 629,000 housing starts in June this year.

On the other hand, applications for building permits fell 3.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 597,000 from the revised June rate of 617,000. However, June's building permits rate was originally reported at 624,000.

Poor employment growth, increased availability of foreclosed homes, strict mortgage lending rules and rock-bottom confidence have kept demand for new homes at low levels. The homebuilders are forced to sell properties at lower prices given the excessive availability of unsold repossessed properties in the market. This has affected their earnings in the recent quarters and is also feared to have unfavorable effects on their future business prospects.

Home sales in the last reported quarter fell for almost all the big homebuilders of the country including DR Horton Inc. ( DHI - Analyst Report), PulteGroup, Inc. ( PHM - Analyst Report), Meritage Homes Corporation ( MTH - Snapshot Report), Louisiana-Pacific Corporation ( LPX - Snapshot Report) and KB Home ( KBH - Analyst Report). The building materials industry also felt the heat driven by lower demand for aggregates, asphalt and cement.

However, most of these companies succeeded in improving their earnings to some extent, mainly because of efficient cost management and production efficiencies. But the overall condition in the housing market is a matter of serious concern for the companies going forward.

 Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leon Zacks. As a PhD from MIT Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://www.zacks.com

Read the full analyst report on DHI

Read the full analyst report on PHM

Read the full analyst report on MTH

Read the full analyst report on LPX

Read the full analyst report on KBH