- The IPO market remains hot - 344 companies have filed to go public so far this year, the most in a decade - but not so for homebuilders. After eight builders raised $1.77B issuing new shares in 2013 and 2014's first half - the first IPOs since 2004 - the momentum has faded as the pace of new home sales remains sluggish.
- “The public equity market right now is not an attractive place,” says Utah-based Woodside Homes chief Joel Shine. His company filed for an IPO in March, but instead decided to raise capital from existing investors and by issuing $50M of debt. The company in H1 posted sales roughly flat with that of a year ago.
- Of the eight builder stocks gone public sine 2013, five - TPH, CCS, WLH, UCP, TMHC - now trade for less than their IPO prices, while two - NWHM, WCIC - are modestly higher. Only one - LGI Homes (NASDAQ:LGIH) - has significantly outperformed the S&P 500.
- ETFs: ITB, XHB