Dividend.com: D.R. Horton Cutting Payout

American Woodmark Posts Smaller Than Expected Loss, Shares Rise

Cabinetmaker American Woodmark (AMWD Quote) reported a smaller than expected quarterly loss Monday, spurring its shares to rise nearly 17% in early afternoon trading.

In the quarter, the company said it lost $481,000, or 3 cents per share, compared to analyst estimates of a loss of 6 cents per share. Sales for the company, whose main clients include Home Depot(HD Quote) and Lowe's(LOW Quote), dropped 16% in the quarter to $134.9 million.

We have been avoiding shares of American Woodmark since our early June coverage began, when shares were trading at the $24 level. The company currently has a dividend yield of 2.57%, based on last night's closing price of $14.03. This earnings report -- although better than expected -- does not bode well for the housing and remodeling markets. The company said that remodeling sales for the second quarter declined in the low teens, while new construction sales fell 20 percent. We urge investors to stay on the sidelines of all home-related stocks until the market shows some signs of recovery.

American Woodmark is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com Rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars.

Hormel Profit Down 33%, Hurt by Turkey Unit

Hormel Foods(HRL Quote), maker of various meat and other food products, reported Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 33% from the year-ago period.

Profits were hampered by the company's Jenny-O Turkey Store unit, which suffered from higher feed and fuel prices, as well as a lack of pricing power. Hormel CEO Jeffrey Ettinger said that "an industry-wide oversupply of breast meat kept prices below our cost of production," adding that "we do not expect this situation will significantly improve until next spring."