Homebuilders Jump On Solid Impressive Home Sales Data (DHI, KBH, RYL, LEN)

Homebuilders Jump On Solid Impressive Home Sales Data (DHI, KBH, RYL, LEN)

Shares of homebuilders jumped on Tuesday after sales of new homes for March came ahead of estimates.

Sales of new U.S. houses slid 7.1% in March largely because purchases in February were revised sharply higher, according to government data released Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said new homes in the U.S. were sold at an annual rate of 328,000 last month, ahead of economists estimates of 325,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

In February, however, the sales rate was revised up to 353,000 from an original reading of 313,000. An unusually warm winter clearly helped, but some home builders also say they saw a surge in demand.

D.R. Horton, Inc.(NYSE:DHI) was up 3.59% to $15.60 on high volume. Yesterday, the company posted a strong increase in its orders for the third straight quarter.

The company earned $40.6 million, or 13 cents a share, up 46% from a year ago profit of $27.8 million, or 9 cents a share, well ahead of analysts’ estimates of 4 cents.

Revenue during the quarter soared to $935.6 million from $733.1 million, again topping analysts’ estimates of $853.5 million.

Net sales orders grew 19% to 5,899 homes, while homebuilding revenue surged 28% to $935.6 million. Order backlog was valued at $1.4 billion, as of March 31.

Looking ahead, D.R. Horton said it expects to be out of its three-year cumulative loss position before the end of its fiscal year, if current trends continue. Home-sales gross margins are expected to remain in the mid-16% to mid-17% range, the company said.

KB Home(NYSE:KBH) climbed 4.50% to $7.91. The stock is up about 185 so far this year.

The Ryland Group, Inc.(NYSE:RYL) rose 3.89% to $18.42 and Lennar Corporation(NYSE:LEN) added 2.06% to $25.23. Beazer Homes USA, Inc.(NYSE:BZH) surged 1.83% to $2.78.