Homebuilder and mortgage company NVR's (NVR) stock jumped about 2% Thursday, after the firm reported sharply higher income in its fourth quarter and beat analysts' estimates, amid rising home sales. The stock is up 9% this year.
Earnings per share vaulted 90% from a year ago in Q4, to $11.98 per diluted share, on revenue up 27% to $943.7 million (homebuilding revenue rose 27%, to $925.4 million). Analysts expected EPS of $11.08 and revenue of $905.6 million.
Builders Rank High Reston, Va.-based NVR is the fifth-largest name in IBD's 17-company Building-Residential/Commercial industry group, after Lennar (LEN), PulteGroup (PHM), D.R. Horton (DHI) and Toll Bros. (TOL) It holds an 87 Composite Rating out of a possible 99.
Amid a housing market rebound, record-low interest rates and builder sentiment at a 7-year high, the group ranks No. 13 of 197 that IBD tracks. It lifted about 1% Thursday.
NVR new home orders rose 22% year over year to 2,625 in Q4, while settlements rose 17% to 2,788.
The backlog of homes sold but not settled lifted 35% to 4,979 units, and in dollars rose 49% to $1.72 billion.
NVR is parent to Ryan Homes, NVHomes and Fox Ridge Homes and operates in 15 states as well as Washington, D.C. It acquired Heartland Homes, which operates mainly in Pittsburgh, at the end of 2012. That added about $81.6 million to NVR's backlog of homes but didn't impact the income statement.
Making Mortgages Along with building homes, NVR does mortgage banking. It closed loan production of $642.2 million in Q4, up 23% from a year ago, with operating income from that segment rising 50% to $9.7 million. As housing recovers and amid many refinancings, IBD's Finance-Mortgage & Related Services industry group ranks No. 4 of 197.
