Waiting for a housing rebound

Article Excerpt

AMERICAN WOODMARK $21.45 (Nasdaq symbol AMWD; SI Rating: Speculative) (540-665-9100; www.americanwoodmark.com; Shares outstanding: 14.2 million; Market cap: $303.9 million; Dividend yield: 1.7%) is a U.S.-based maker of cabinets for kitchens and bathrooms. It offers more than 380 cabinet lines in a variety of designs, materials and finishes. The company mainly sells its cabinets through a network of dealers and distributors. It also sells them directly to major homebuilders and retailers, such as Home Depot. American Woodmark operates 14 plants and 10 builder centres across the U.S. In the three months ended April 30, 2010, American Woodmark lost $1.5 million, or $0.11 a share. A year earlier, it lost $2.9 million, or $0.21. Sales fell 20.1%, to $112.4 million from $140.7 million. Remodelling sales remain weak The company gets 70% of its sales from homeowners. These sales fell as these customers continue to put off renovations due to the weak economy. That offset higher sales to homebuilders and contractors. Last year, the company closed two…