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business newsTicker Shock: Hasbro Losing Game; Beazer, Whirlpool Down the Drain
Monday's top stories and stocks with potential to move.
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Asian markets were mixed. The Hang Seng closed up less than 1% while the Nikkei was off 1% and change. Meanwhile, European stocks were slightly lower this morning. Here in the US we're currently trading a bit lower.
Here’s what I’m seeing this morning:
Beazer Homes (BZH):
I want to believe in you Beazer, I do - but gimme a reason to climb aboard, already! The well-known homebuilder released its first-quarter numbers this morning. It posted a loss of $2.08 a share and its revs came in at about $232.4 million, which was a country mile south of the roughly $500.7 million it put up in the comparable period last year.
Of course, I was more focused on trying to determine what the future may hold. I'm not of the belief that things are about to take a major turn for the better anytime soon.
Some snippets from the release that may provide some clues as to how things are going:
“Backlog: 965 homes with a sales value of $227.2 million compared to 2,231 homes with a sales value of $605.2 million as of December 31, 2007.”
“New orders: 545 homes, a decrease of 56.5% from 1,252 in the first quarter of the prior year.”
“Home closings: 938 homes, a decrease of 53.2% from 2,006 homes in the first quarter of the prior year."
Based on this info, even at a buck I’m reluctant to step up to the plate. Sorry Beazer bulls, but I really need to see some tangible evidence that things have turned - or at least some feel-good optimism from management. I’m taking the bench on this one.
Hasbro (HAS):
I have no interest in playing in this sandbox in the near-term, and that’s mainly due to the toy company’s lackluster fourth-quarter results. In the period ended December 28th, the Rhode Island-based company posted a profit of $0.62 a share. That was more than a few Easy-Bake Oven's shy of the $0.75 that analysts had been looking for.
To boot, its revenue line came in at about $1.23 billion, which appeared a bit light as well.
All and all, I didn’t see this as a great quarter. However, there were a couple of bright spots that I think the investment community may be glossing over. Per the release:
“The Company repurchased a total of 11.7 million shares of common stock during 2008, at a total cost of $357.6 million, leaving $252.4 million remaining in the current share repurchase authorization.”
I’d also want to point out the $0.20 dividend that was declared, which is well north of the $0.16 in the comparable period last year.
With all that in mind, I’m reluctant to jump in now because that was such a big miss, but I do believe the company will mount a comeback. My gut tells me to wait another quarter or 2 - and that a better entry point may be had down the road.
By the way: Where are the insiders lately with the stock near its lows?
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