Pulte Homes Reports Loss In Line With Forecasts

Pulte Homes on Wednesday reported a second-quarter loss of $2.01, in the positive end of the home builder's July 17 guidance: It had predicted a loss of $2 to $2.10 per share. Quarterly revenue was $2.02 billion, largely in-line with forecasts.

The homebuilder posted a second-quarter loss of $2.01, in the positive end of the home builder's July 17 guidance: It had predicted a loss of $2 to $2.10 per share.

Quarterly revenue was $2.02 billion, largely in line with forecasts.

Analyst consensus had called for a loss of $2.04 per share, on revenue of $2.04 billion, a 39% decline from the year-ago period.

Pulte Homes shares sunk to $20.11 in Tuesday afternoon trading, a nearly four-year low, then closed up 21 cents, or 1.03%, at $20.67 on the New York Stock Exchange. The homebuilder's stock slipped 9 cents to $20.58 in after-hours trade.

In related news, the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday said that U.S. mortgage applications fell for the first time in four weeks, nearing a five-month low and largely reflecting a drop in demand for home purchase loans.

The association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, widely considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales, for the week ended July 20 decreased 3.6% to 609.0, the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 16 when it stood at 606.6.

The four-week moving average of mortgage applications was down 0.4% at 621.6.