Ryland beats Street on higher home sales
Shares of the The Ryland Group finished trading up more than 8 percent Thursday after the company released fourth-quarter earnings with revenues up 24.7 percent, trumping analysts expectations.
The Westlake Village-based homebuilder, reported net income of $71.7 million, down from $72.2 million for the same period in 2013. The decrease was related to a $25.9 million tax benefit, the company said.
Revenue was $867.8 million for the quarter, while analysts expected $784.6 million, according to Zacks.
New orders increased 8.3 percent to 1,547 units for the fourth quarter of 2014 from 1,428 units for the fourth quarter of 2013, and new order dollars rose 14.3 percent to $536.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2014 from $469.4 million for the same period in 2013 .
For the year, the company reported profit of $175.8 million, with earnings per share of $3.09. Annual revenue was reported as $2.62 billion.
While other publicly traded homebuilders also posted solid gains, the Wall Street Journal reported that even though investors are optimistic, analysts aren’t so bullish on the housing market as the spring home-selling season approaches.
According to the report analysts noted that builders’ sales gains in recent quarters, including the latest, have come as a result of outward expansion rather than more preferable internal growth. That means homebuilders’ gains are being derived from firms launching whole new community projects, rather than increased home sales from current inventory.
