KB Home Q4 Profit Tops Street, Shares Up

(RTTNews) - Shares of KB Home (KBH) rose 4% in extended trading session on Wednesday after the home-builder reported a fourth-quarter profit that trumped Wall Street estimates.

The Los Angeles-based company's bottom line for the fourth quarter rose to $96.8 million or $0.96 per share from $84.3 million or $0.84 per share last year. On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.94 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter fell 3.6% to $1.35 billion from $1.40 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.35 billion.

Deliveries for the quarter increased slightly to 3,389 homes, while average selling price declined 5% to $395,200 due primarily to a shift in geographic mix of homes delivered.

"We believe we are well positioned for 2019, with an anticipated 10% to 15% increase in our community count," said CEO Jeffrey Mezger. "In addition, we have taken proactive steps to reposition many of our existing and future communities to make our product more affordable. Our business model enables us to efficiently move with demand, leveraging our existing plan series to add smaller square footage options to our communities, and adjusting the specification levels within our homes. This operational flexibility expands the range of choices for our homebuyers, in moving up or down in square footage and upgrading options in our design studios — both distinctive advantages of our highly customer-centric approach to homebuilding."

KBH closed Wednesday's trading at $21.98, up $0.86 or 4.07%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $0.97 or 4.41% in the after-hours trade.