Is Now The Time To Put Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH) On Your Watchlist?

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

Check out our latest analysis for Beazer Homes USA

How Fast Is Beazer Homes USA Growing Its Earnings Per Share?

In the last three years Beazer Homes USA's earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. Impressively, Beazer Homes USA's EPS catapulted from US$4.08 to US$7.37, over the last year. Year on year growth of 81% is certainly a sight to behold.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. The good news is that Beazer Homes USA is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 5.0 percentage points to 12%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

earnings-and-revenue-history
earnings-and-revenue-history

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Beazer Homes USA.

Are Beazer Homes USA Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. Beazer Homes USA followers will find comfort in knowing that insiders have a significant amount of capital that aligns their best interests with the wider shareholder group. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at US$56m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. Amounting to 12% of the outstanding shares, indicating that insiders are also significantly impacted by the decisions they make on the behalf of the business.

Is Beazer Homes USA Worth Keeping An Eye On?

Beazer Homes USA's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. That sort of growth is nothing short of eye-catching, and the large investment held by insiders should certainly brighten the view of the company. The hope is, of course, that the strong growth marks a fundamental improvement in the business economics. So based on this quick analysis, we do think it's worth considering Beazer Homes USA for a spot on your watchlist. Even so, be aware that Beazer Homes USA is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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