What happened
Flooring manufacturer Mohawk Industries (MHK -0.17%) is riding the housing boom, last week reporting better-than-expected earnings. Over the weekend, analysts bet that the strong performance would continue, causing the stock to surge 10% higher at the open Monday.
So what
Last Thursday evening, Mohawk reported first-quarter earnings of $3.49 per share on revenue of $2.7 billion, beating analyst expectations for $2.81 in EPS on revenue of $2.6 billion. On the company's post-earnings call, CEO Jeff Lorberbaum attributed the beat to the red-hot housing and home improvement market, and said he's optimistic that post-pandemic business reopenings will help to fuel increased demand in the quarters to come.
Image source: Getty Images.
"Around the world, consumers are continuing to invest in their homes, and new flooring plays a major role in most remodeling projects," Lorberbaum said. "We're also starting to see moderate improvement in commercial demand as global economies expand and businesses begin to invest in an anticipation of a return to normal."
Mohawk officials said they are investing in additional manufacturing assets in anticipation of continued strong demand.
Wall Street liked what the company had to say, with at least three banks raising their price target for the stock over the weekend. Truist and Barclays raised their targets to $236 and $235, respectively. And RBC Capital analyst Michael Dahl, who has an underperform rating on the stock, raised his target to $154 from $134. Mohawk currently trades at around $223 per share.
Now what
If you believe the housing market can continue at its red-hot pace, Mohawk should have ample opportunities to capitalize on it over the next few quarters. The questions for RBC's Dahl are how long the surge will last and what "structural challenges" will be caused by the higher demand and investment to meet it.
Mohawk shares are now up more than 160% over the past year, though largely flat over the past three years. Given the cyclical ebb and flow of housing, I'd be cautious about establishing a position at these current levels, but for long-term holders, there is a lot to like about the outlook for the coming months.
