U.S. stocks were in negative territory on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13% to 25,625, the S&P 500 index lost 0.46% to 2,805 and the Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 0.63% to 7,643.
Shares of Lennar Corp. (LEN, Financial) rose almost 4% on Wednesday after the company announced first-quarter results. Revenue grew 29.9% from the prior-year quarter to $3.87 billion, falling $230 million short of expectations. Earnings of 74 cents per share missed estimates by 2 cents.
In the first quarter, revenue from home sales rose 36% to $3.6 billion.
"We are pleased to announce our results for the first quarter where we achieved net earnings of $239.9 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, compared to $136.2 million, or $0.53 per diluted share in the prior year," Executive Chairman Stuart Miller said. "Our new order growth exceeded the high end of our guidance by 5%, while our deliveries fell short of guidance primarily due to well-documented weather issues across the country. Even with lower than expected revenues in the first quarter, our continued focus on homebuilding operating efficiencies allowed the Company to increase operating earnings at a higher rate than revenues."
The gross margin on home sales reached $726.1 million, or 20.1%, up from $516.6 million, or 19.5%, in the prior-year quarter.
Moreover, the board of directors authorized a share repurchase program up to the lesser of $1 billion, or 25 million shares. It repurchased one million shares for $47 million, which equals an average cost of $46.98 per share.
Gainers
- PulteGroup Inc. (PHM, Financial)
- Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD, Financial)
- Gap Inc. (GPS, Financial)
- Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL, Financial)
- D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI, Financial)
Losers
- Centene Corp. (CNC, Financial)
- Western Digital Corp. (WDC, Financial)
- Abiomed Inc. (ABMD, Financial)
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, Financial)
- MGM Resorts International (MGM, Financial)
- Micron Technology Inc. (MU, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded in red. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.03%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.12%, Germany's Dax was flat and Spain's IBEX 35 rose 0.51%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.23%, India’s BSE Sensex dipped 0.26%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.56% and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.85%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
