Group of 5 Homebuilders to Report Earnings Next Week
There has been an incredible shift in consumer preferences, when it comes to living arrangements, since the health crisis hit the United States. It seems that people are looking to buy single-family homes in the suburbs en masse at this point in time. The COVID-19 pandemic is creating demand as consumers are perhaps reevaluating whether they want to live in a building with hundreds of other people.
We are also seeing companies shift their policies to allow more people to work remotely. Earlier this week Microsoft announced that it was permanently changing its policy and that many workers would be allowed to work remotely.
The shift in housing preferences has caused the homebuilding stocks to rally sharply in the last six months or so. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) has more than doubled off of its March low. The huge rally has put the fund in overbought territory and many of the stocks held by the fund are also overbought at this time.
In the week of October 19-23, five different homebuilders are expected to report earnings. Rather than using just the holdings in the SPDR Homebuiders ETF, I looked to Tickeron’s Homebuilding Industry Screener. By using this feature I was able to quickly review the fundamental and technical indicators for all five of these stocks. The companies reporting next week are Meritage Homes (MTH), M/I Homes (MHO, Patrick Industries (PATK), PulteGroup (PHM), and TRI Pointe Group (TPH).
Looking at the scorecard ratings, three of the five are rated as a “strong buy” and the other two have “buy” ratings. Four of the five have more bullish technical signals than bearish ones and three of the five have more positive than negative fundamental signals.
Pulte really stands out above the rest with four positive fundamental indicators and four bullish signals from the technical indicators. The stock doesn’t have any negative marks on either side. TRI Pointe and M/I Homes are close behind with only one negative fundamental indicator and one bearish signal from the technical indicators.
As for specific indicators where there is consensus among the group, all five have positive Outlook Ratings on the fundamental side. As for the technical indicators, there are two where all five have bullish signals—the Momentum Indicator and the MACD indicators.
The AI Trend Predictions, four of the five stocks have bullish predictions for the next week and for the next month. Patrick Industries is the only one with a bearish trend predicted and that is for the next week. The results for the next month are inconclusive.
One other area of analysis that I find useful, especially when it comes to earnings announcements, is the sentiment being displayed toward a stock before the report. If the sentiment is overly bullish, it is almost impossible for the company to issue earnings that meet expectations. Conversely, if the sentiment is extremely bearish, it is an indication that expectations are low and any positive news will be met with buying pressure. This is a contrarian line of thinking.
For these five stocks the sentiment doesn’t seem to be overly bullish in any capacity. In this case I listed the overall analysts’ ratings for each stock and I listed the short interest ratio (SIR) as well. In the case of the analyst ratings, I have grouped them as buy/hold/sell. There aren’t any sell ratings among the stocks.
The only stock that has a vast majority of buy ratings is Patrick Industries, but there are only six analysts covering the stock. I was very surprised by Pulte having more hold ratings than buy ratings. Over the years I have found the average buy percentage falls in the 65% to 75% range. This means Pulte is well below average in this area. Given the high number of hold ratings and the reluctance for analysts to issue sell ratings, having a great number of hold ratings gives us a greater chance of upgrades than downgrades.
As for the short interest ratios, the average ratio is in the 3.0 range. The reason a high short interest ratio can serve as a bullish indication is more mechanical than the analysts’ ratings. If a stock is rallying and a short seller is forced to cover their position, it adds buying pressure to a stock that is already rallying. In this case we see that Patrick Industries and TRI Pointe Group both have short interest ratios that are much higher than the average stock. If either of these companies beats its EPS estimate by a wide margin, the stock could rally sharply as short sellers try to cover.
The overall outlook for the group is pretty strong based on the fundamentals, the technical indicators, and the sentiment indicators. I would consider Pulte and TRI Pointe as the strongest two based on the overall analysis.
Contributor
Harry Richardson — Algorithmic Trader & Strategy Developer Harry is an algorithmic trader specializing in impulse and breakout trading strategies across cryptocurrency and equity markets. With more than 10 years of experience in developing automated trading systems, he focuses on building structured algorithms designed to capture momentum while maintaining strict risk control. His approach combines quantitative analysis, real-market execution, and continuous performance monitoring. Vitalii prioritizes risk management, drawdown control, and strategy stability over short-term optimization, ensuring algorithms are adaptable to changing market conditions. He has developed and tested hundreds of automated strategies, working extensively with live trading environments, forward testing, and portfolio-level algorithm management. His work centers on transforming trading ideas into fully operational, scalable automated systems.
XHB sees its 50-day moving average cross bearishly below its 200-day moving average
The 50-day moving average for XHB moved below the 200-day moving average on September 10, 2026. This could be a long-term bearish signal for the stock as the stock shifts to an downward trend.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bearish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on October 05, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on XHB as a result. In 73 of 83 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 88%.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where XHB declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 88%.
The Aroon Indicator for XHB entered a downward trend on October 05, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
Bullish Trend Analysis
The RSI Oscillator points to a transition from a downward trend to an upward trend -- in cases where XHB's RSI Indicator exited the oversold zone, 26 of 27 resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 90%.
The Stochastic Oscillator suggests the stock price trend may be in a reversal from a downward trend to an upward trend. 51 of 57 cases where XHB's Stochastic Oscillator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 89%.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for XHB just turned positive on September 22, 2026. Looking at past instances where XHB's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 42 of 49 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 86%.
Following a +3.13% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XHB advanced for three days, in 271 of 315 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 86%.
XHB may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options.
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