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Add this 'Strong Buy' Stock on the Dip to Your Q3 Portfolio?

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KB Home (KBH - Free Report) shares have tumbled about 25% since May 10, as Wall Street took profits on some cyclical and economically sensitive areas to dive back into technology stocks. Despite some recent setbacks, including a Q2 revenue miss, the homebuilder boasts some solid fundamentals and its outlook remains strong.

Quick Overview  

KB Home operates in 45 markets, mostly in highly desirable areas within Colorado, Arizona, Texas, California, Nevada, and Washington. The company allows buyers to customize many aspects of their homes. KBH is also committed to more energy-efficient offerings. In fact, the firm boasts that it is “the first builder to make every home we build ENERGY STAR certified.”

The Los Angeles-based firm has benefitted from the booming housing market that saw U.S. home sales hit their highest levels since 2006 in 2020. KBH and other U.S. builders are poised to grow going forward within a tight housing market that is, based on one recent report, 5.5 million units below necessary levels.

More importantly, the housing market is finally being driven by millennials. This plays into KBH’s strength since a majority of its clients are first-time buyers. KB Home said on its Q2 earnings call that it “opened 33 new communities in the second quarter,” but it noted that due to “heightened demand for our homes, we sold out more communities than we had projected.”

The broader dynamic of low supply and high demand is largely good for homebuilders despite challenges. KBH did miss Q2 sales estimates in late June, but it topped our earnings projections and its backlog skyrocketed 126% to $4.3 billion. “We are poised to deliver a substantial increase in revenue this year, at solid margins that we anticipate will contribute to a return on equity of roughly 20%,” CEO Jeffrey Mezger said in prepared remarks.

“As we look to 2022, our backlog, together with our expected community count growth, positions our company for another year of healthy expansion.”

Zacks Investment Research
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What Else?

Zacks estimates call for KB Home’s fiscal 2021 revenue to soar 44% to $6 billion and crush its pre-pandemic total of $4.6 billion in FY19, while its adjusted earnings are projected to soar 91% to $5.99 a share. Peeking further down the line, its FY22 sales are expected to climb 16.5% higher to $7 billion and lift its adjusted EPS by 17%.

KBH announced on July 8 that it upped its stock buyback program. Plus, its 1.5% dividend yield tops the 10-year U.S. Treasury and many of its fellow highly-ranked peers like Lennar (LEN - Free Report) and Toll Brothers (TOL - Free Report) .

KB Home stock has fallen 25% since climbing above $50 a share on May 10, which marked its highest levels since the financial crisis. The stock is still up over 20% in the last 12 months and 140% in the past five years to easily outpace its industry’s 100% run. KBH also trades at a 30% discount to its year-long median and 50% below its year-long highs at 5.9X forward sales, which comes in 20% below its industry’s average.

Bottom Line

KBH’s positive, post-release ESP revisions help it grab a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now, alongside its “A” grade for Value in our Style Scores system. On top of trading 25% below its recent highs, even as the broader market is trading near record levels, KB Home is near oversold RSI levels, which could give it runway.

That said, some investors might want to wait for signs of a comeback since KBH shares recently slipped below their 200-day moving average.


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