by bgetch.

As stakeholders, employees are a well-defined group, as are shareholders.  But there’s a new class of stakeholders for consideration: litigious employee shareholders…From the Atlanta-Journal Constitution:

Atlanta-based Beazer Homes is now facing questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission about its business practices as well as a new lawsuit from participants in its pension plan.

In an SEC filing Thursday, Beazer disclosed the SEC’s “informal inquiry to determine whether any person or entity related to Beazer Homes has violated federal securities laws.”

A spokesman for the SEC in Washington declined to comment.

The same filing also discloses that a group of current and former Beazer employees is seeking class-action certification in a suit against the company over failure to share important information about Beazer while their 401(k) money was invested in the company. more

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by bgetch.

OVERVIEW: Current slump nothwithstanding, the explosion of home ownership, residential construction and home values have turned builders into brands. Centex, Toll Brothers, Pulte are climbing the brand equity chart.

Recently, another large builder, BeazerHomes, was the subject of stories in North Carolina related to minority-lending practices and foreclosures. There were other questions about loan originations. The FBI subsequently began an inquiry. The company steadfastly denies any wrongdoing as the CEO also talked about doing business in a “very difficult operating environment.”

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

1. Have the major home builders crossed the threshold into consumer brands with distinctive attributes in the minds of prospects?
2. Do homebuyers make distinctions or value purchasing judgments beyond location, price and quality? If so, how might the Beazer news affect prospective new home buyers?

Posted in Beazer Homes, Companies Tracked | Print | No Comments »