St. Joe (JOE) Posts Loss in Q4, Witnesses Fall in Revenues
The St. Joe Company JOE reported a fourth-quarter 2018 net loss of $0.1 million or $0.00 per share compared with net income of $38.5 million, or 58 cents per share in the comparable period last year.
The reported quarter’s results include around $1.4 million in net expenses associated with Hurricane Michael that affected the area on Oct 10, 2018. Also the fourth-quarter 2018 results include around $3.7 million unrealized loss on the company’s preferred investments due to market volatility in December 2018.
Meanwhile, the year-ago quarter results included a net gain of $9.8 million resulting from the sale of its short-term vacation rental management business. Also, results included a one-time credit of $33.5 million to re-measure the company’s net deferred tax liability.
Total revenues for the quarter came in at $16.3 million, down 25.2% from $21.8 million recorded a year ago. Results reflect decline in revenues in real estate, hospitality, leasing and timber segments. However, the company’s total expenses for the quarter declined 24.8% from the prior-year quarter to $17.6 million.
For full-year 2018, St. Joe reported net income of $32.4 million or 52 cents per share compared with net income of $59.5 million or 84 cents per share in 2017. Revenues aggregated $110.3 million, up 10.3% year over year.
Behind the Headline Numbers
In the fourth quarter, real-estate revenues came in at $6.1 million, down from the prior year’s $8.3 million, while Hospitality revenues fell to $6.7 million, down from $8.6 million in the year-ago period.
Leasing revenues came in at $3.2 million, slightly down from $3.5 million in the prior-year quarter, while timber revenues of $0.3 million declined from $1.4 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
Notably, as of Dec 31, 2018, the company owned a portfolio of approximately 812,630 square feet of rentable commercial space which was 93% leased. This compared to ownership of 813,602 square feet of rentable commercial space by the company which was 87% leased as of Dec 31, 2017. Moreover, in 2018, a total of 202 home sites were sold as compared with 174 in 2017.
Liquidity
St. Joe exited 2018 with cash, cash equivalents and investments of $240.3 million as of Dec 31, 2018, as compared to $303.4 million as of Dec 31, 2017.
Additionally, during 2018, the repurchased 5,238,566 shares of its common stock for $93.4 million, denoting approximately 8% of the company’s outstanding common stock. Following the quarter end, the company bought back an additional 471,500 shares of its common stock for $7.1 million. St. Joe has around $35.8 million in remaining repurchase authorization under its stock-repurchase program.
Conclusion
St. Joe’s strategies to expand its portfolio of income-producing properties and focus on recurring operating income opportunities will likely create long-term value for shareholders. Further, continued efforts to enhance its leasing portfolio have enabled the company to record encouraging growth. Nonetheless, inconsistent revenue performance in a number of segments and regional business concentration remain concerns.
St. Joe currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
We, now, look forward to the earnings releases of other real estate related companies Green Brick Partners, Inc. GRBK, Senior Housing Properties Trust SNH and Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. PLYM, which are slated to report their quarterly numbers in the upcoming days.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?
Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.
See Latest Stocks Today >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
St. Joe Company (The) (JOE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
PLYMOUTH IND RE (PLYM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Green Brick Partners, Inc. (GRBK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
