The home construction industry has been watched closely in the last few quarters. The housing numbers have been stagnant and declining in the U.S. and the Fed was in a rate-hiking phase up until December. Those two factors led to a selloff in a number of housing stocks and it caused the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE: XHB) to fall sharply. After the low in December, the XHB bounced back, primarily as the overall market bounced back. The ETF did do something different from the rest of the market over the last three and a half months though—it formed an upward sloping trend channel.
We see on the daily chart how the highs from February, April, and May form the upper rail while the low from March and the recent low form the lower rail. The lower rail is very close to the 50-day moving average and that means the area should be a strong support level.
The Tickeron AI Trend Prediction Engine generated a bullish signal for the XHB on May 13 and that signal is predicting a gain of at least 4% over the next month. The signal showed a confidence level of 72% and previous predictions toward the ETF have been successful 86% of the time.
Due to how I use Investor’s Business Daily’s fundamental rating system, I knew there were several homebuilders with strong EPS ratings and SMR ratings. I looked at the 10 most heavily weighted stocks in the XHB and put together the following table.
These 10 stocks account for almost 50% of the holdings in the XHB on a weighted basis. As you can see, the average EPS score for the 10 stocks is 84.9. Using the traditional grading system of four points for an A, three for a B, etc, the average SMR grade is 3.2, or a B+.
What this tells me is that the companies that are held in the XHB have some pretty solid fundamentals.
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XHB saw its Momentum Indicator move below the 0 level on October 05, 2026. This is an indication that the stock could be shifting in to a new downward move. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 83 similar instances where the indicator turned negative. In 77 of the 83 cases, the stock moved further down in the following days. The odds of a decline are at 90%.
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.
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 06, 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.
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 43 of 49 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 88%.
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.
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
Category ConsumerDiscretionary