Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH) Short Interest Up 23.8% in February

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, a growth of 23.8% from the January 31st total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 404,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Beazer Homes USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BZH traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.06. The company had a trading volume of 89,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 478,904. The firm has a market cap of $719.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.87, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 2.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.70. Beazer Homes USA has a one year low of $20.66 and a one year high of $38.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 15.52.

Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.21). Beazer Homes USA had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 10.12%. On average, research analysts predict that Beazer Homes USA will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Beazer Homes USA in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beazer Homes USA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new position in Beazer Homes USA during the 4th quarter worth $275,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Beazer Homes USA by 711.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 225,453 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,704,000 after acquiring an additional 197,666 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Beazer Homes USA in the third quarter worth approximately $1,370,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Beazer Homes USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Beazer Homes USA by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 25,082 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 5,235 shares during the period. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Beazer Homes USA

Beazer Homes USA, Inc operates as a homebuilder in the United States. It designs, constructs, and sells single-family and multi-family homes under the Beazer Homes, Gatherings, and Choice Plans names. The company also sells its homes through commissioned new home sales counselors and independent brokers in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Indiana, Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.