Hovnanian Enterprises

Housing Sector Down on Missed Earnings and Data

Shares of homebuilders fell Friday after a bellwether company, KB Homes (NYSE: KBH), reported disappointing quarterly earnings and a key monthly housing gauge dipped for a second month in a row.

Los Angeles-based KB Homes reported a loss that was worse than analysts had forecast. Its stock was the hardest hit within the homebuilding sector, falling as much as 15% in morning trading. The shares had recovered somewhat by midday, down recently 65 cents, or 5.78%, at $10.59.The company reported losses for the fiscal quarter ending Feb. 29 of $45.8 million, or 59 cents a share. The numbers were better than a year ago, when a loss of $114.5 million, or $1.49 a share, was reported. But analysts had predicted a loss of 23 cents for the most recent quarter.Meanwhile, sales of new homes in February were lower than expected, according to a Commerce Department report. It was the second month in a row in which sales of new homes declined.In February, sales fell 1.6% to a 313,000 annual pace, the slo...

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