KB Home (NYSE: KBH) posted better than expected first quarter earnings results, as the seasonal value of backlog surged to levels not seen since the height of the housing bubble of 2007.

Written by StockNews.com

The Los Angeles-based homebuilder reported Q1 EPS of $0.15, which was $0.01 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.14.

Revenues rose 20.7% from last year to $818.6 million, also topping analysts’ view for $797.78 million.

KBH also noted that homebuilding operating income margins rose 30 basis points to 3.1%, while net orders jumped 14% to 2,580. Meanwhile, net order value jumped 32% to $1.09 billion, and homes in backlog rose 11% to 4,776.

At the end of Q1, KB Home’s backlog value jumped 25% to $1.79 billion. That marked the highest first quarter backlog value since 2007 — at the height of the real estate bubble.

The company commented via press release:

“We continue to progress on our returns-focused growth roadmap, which includes expanding the scale of our business within our current geographic footprint, increasing our operating income margin, generating cash from operations to support a balanced approach to future growth, reducing debt and improving our leverage ratio,” said [CEO Jeffrey] Mezger. “In alignment with this strategy, we completed the early redemption of $100 million of our senior notes in the quarter using internally generated cash. Based on the steadily increasing momentum we have sustained over the past few years, and the positive start to 2017, we believe we are well positioned to achieve our objectives for the year.”

KB Home shares rose $0.22 (+1.14%) in after-hours trading Thursday. Year-to-date, KBH had already gained 22.39% prior to today’s report, versus a 4.70% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

KBH currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #7 of 24 stocks in the Homebuilders category.