Diamonds and Dogs

11/12/18

Beazer Homes (BZH) had a good day up 33% thanks to better than expected earnings. Beazer easily beat earnings and sales numbers for the quarter as sales rose 14% and earnings surged 79%. Looking into next year, management noted that in fiscal 2019 it expects to deliver improved profitability, with a growing community count and a higher average selling price. Beazer is also hoping to pay down its debt a bit. At $1.2 billion net of cash, Beazer's debt load currently dwarfs its $350 million market cap.

US crude was the dog of the day down 7% to one-year low, settling at $55.69 and extending record losing streak to 12 straight days. Oil prices went from a four-year high to a bear market in just six weeks. President Trump likes the news urging OPEC and Saudi Arabia on Monday to reject another round of production cuts after oil prices collapsed over the last six weeks. However, OPEC and Russia want oil prices higher than current levels so I would expect them to reverse course and agree to throttle back output at their meeting next month.