You don't see this every day. Monday, Coachmen (NYSE:COA) announced that it was cutting its dividend in half while also initiating a $1 million share buyback. Usually a company hacking away at its payout is in cash conservation mode. This time, it seems as if the RV specialist is trying to get its right- and left-turn indicators to go off at the same time.
That's no easy feat. Making it even trickier is knowing that the driver is pulling over. Coachmen also announced that CEO Claire Skinner would take early retirement. She is also resigning as chairman.
"We believe the company's best days lie yet ahead," declared its new chairman, William P. Johnson.
Really? The future is so bright that you're slicing the stock's 2.2% yield in half?
I get why looking ahead might be preferred to peeking in the rearview mirror. This past quarter, Coachmen sales slid by 18%, as profits fell to $0.02 a share from $0.09. Most of the weakness is coming from the company's RV business, which accounts for 72% of sales.
It's a tricky sector. High fuel prices are smacking around the motor home market, and an oversupply of conventional housing and high loan rates are distracting potential RV owners.
Coachmen isn't alone. Winnebago's (NYSE:WGO) net revenues fell by 14% this past quarter. However, Fleetwood (NYSE:FLE), Monaco Coach (NYSE:MNC), and Thor (NYSE:THO) all managed to grow their top lines in the quarter. Thor was especially resilient with a 22% increase.
So let's not buy into Coachmen's optimism until we see how it plans to win back market share. The view in the rearview mirror isn't pretty, and the competition keeps getting farther away.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has rented motor homes and sometimes is an unannounced stowaway when his sister's family hits the road in their RV. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. Not yet. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
