KB Home Stock Is Falling After Hours As Homebuyers Become 'More Cautious'

KB Home KBH shares are trading lower in Wednesday's after-hours session after the company reported worse-than-expected financial results and warned of a challenging housing market.

What Happened: KB Home said fourth-quarter revenue climbed 16% year-over-year to $1.94 billion, which missed average analyst estimates of $1.98 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The U.S. homebuilder reported quarterly earnings of $2.47 per share, which missed estimates of $2.87 per share.

KB Home highlighted its book value of $43.59 per share, up 29% year-over-year. 

"High mortgage rates and persistent inflation, together with an uncertain economy, have made homebuyers more cautious since the middle of last year," said Jeffrey Mezger, chairman, president and CEO of KB Home.

"With the industry-wide deceleration in housing starts compared to a year ago, we are also pursuing reductions in direct construction costs and build times, which should help to offset the impact of pricing adjustments we may take," Mezger added.

KB Home said it plans to get more aggressive with its pricing ahead of the Spring, but for now it is focused on its large backlog of over 7,600 homes, representing approximately $3.69 billion in future revenue.

First-quarter revenue is expected to be between $1.25 billion and $1.4 billion. Average selling prices are expected to be in a range of $490,000 to $500,000.

KB Home noted that "favorable demographics and a prolonged undersupply of homes" gives it confidence in the housing market long-term.

See Also: Investor Optimism Improves Further After Nasdaq Adds 1%

KBH Price Action: KB Home has a 52-week high of $50.20 and a 52-week low of $24.78.

The stock was down 4.87% in after hours at $34.19 at time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Paul Brennan from Pixabay.