Yahoo Finance Should You Be Adding M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO) To Your Watchlist Today?
Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.
In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.
See our latest analysis for M/I Homes
How Quickly Is M/I Homes Increasing Earnings Per Share?
If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Recognition must be given to the that M/I Homes has grown EPS by 58% per year, over the last three years. Growth that fast may well be fleeting, but it should be more than enough to pique the interest of the wary stock pickers.
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. Our analysis has highlighted that M/I Homes' revenue from operations did not account for all of their revenue last year, so our analysis of its margins might not accurately reflect the underlying business. While we note M/I Homes achieved similar EBIT margins to last year, revenue grew by a solid 8.8% to US$3.9b. That's encouraging news for the company!
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.
While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check M/I Homes' balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.
Are M/I Homes Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It should give investors a sense of security owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, creating a close alignment their interests. M/I Homes followers will find comfort in knowing that insiders have a significant amount of capital that aligns their best interests with the wider shareholder group. To be specific, they have US$28m worth of shares. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. While their ownership only accounts for 2.4%, this is still a considerable amount at stake to encourage the business to maintain a strategy that will deliver value to shareholders.
Should You Add M/I Homes To Your Watchlist?
M/I Homes' earnings have taken off in quite an impressive fashion. That EPS growth certainly is attention grabbing, and the large insider ownership only serves to further stoke our interest. At times fast EPS growth is a sign the business has reached an inflection point, so there's a potential opportunity to be had here. Based on the sum of its parts, we definitely think its worth watching M/I Homes very closely. It is worth noting though that we have found 1 warning sign for M/I Homes that you need to take into consideration.
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.
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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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