M.D.C. Holdings Second Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, July 31, 2012. M.D.C. Holdings operates in the field of homebuilding and financial services. Its homebuilding operations consist of construction and sale of single-family detached homes and financial services includes mortgage loans and title agency services.

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net income of 9 cents per share, up from net loss of 36 cents in the year-earlier quarter. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from a loss of 7 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has been unchanged at 9 cents during the last month. For the year, analysts are projecting profit of 55 cents per share, a swing from a loss of $1.27 last year.

Past Earnings Performance: Last quarter, the company reported net income of 4 cents per share versus a mean estimate of net loss of. The company has beaten estimates for the past three quarters.

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A Look Back: In the first quarter, the company swung to a profit of $2.3 million (4 cents a share) from a loss of $19.9 million (43 cents) a year earlier, beating analyst estimates. Revenue rose 9.7% to $186.3 million from $169.7 million.

Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $273.2 million in revenue this quarter, a rise of 26.7% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $1.12 billion for the year, a rise of 32.7% from last year’s revenue of $844.2 million.

Stock Price Performance: Between April 30, 2012 and July 25, 2012, the stock price rose $3.21 (11.4%), from $28.11 to $31.32. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between May 18, 2012 and May 29, 2012, when shares rose for seven straight days, increasing 16.8% (+$4.30) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between July 26, 2011 and August 8, 2011 when shares fell for 10 straight days, dropping 28.9% (-$6.79) over that span.

Key Stats:

On the top line, the company is looking to build on last quarter’s revenue increase, which snapped a string of revenue drops. Revenue fell 33.9% in the second quarter of the last fiscal year, 6.3% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year and 4.7% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year before climbing in the first quarter.

Heading into this earnings season, the company is looking to build on positive signs from last quarter. After taking losses in the second quarter of the last fiscal year, the third of the last fiscal year and the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, the company finished in the black with income of $2.3 million in the first.

Balance Sheet Analysis: The company’s current ratio of assets to liabilities came in at 7.91 last quarter. Having a ratio above 2:1 is usually considered a good indicator of a company’s liquidity and ability to meet creditor demands.

Analyst Ratings: There are mostly holds on the stock with six of eight analysts surveyed giving that rating.

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(Company fundamentals by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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