Homebuilder stocks slumped broadly Tuesday, after Barclays downgraded several of them, and reiterated a bearish view on some others, citing concerns that valuations suggest investors may be too optimistic in the face of data pointing to moderating buyer traffic trends. Toll Brothers Inc.'s stock /zigman2/quotes/201912487/composite TOL +1.25% shed 1.6% after analyst Michael Dahl downgraded it to underweight from equal weight, while shares of Lennar Corp. /zigman2/quotes/202536373/composite LEN +0.41% fell 1.5%, PulteGroup Inc. /zigman2/quotes/201694804/composite PHM +1.89% lost 0.6% and TRI Pointe Group Inc. /zigman2/quotes/204302452/composite TPH +0.06% dropped 1.7% after Dahl downgraded them to equal weight from overweight. Shares of KB Home /zigman2/quotes/206220859/composite KBH +0.72% slipped 0.2%, Meritage Homes Corp. /zigman2/quotes/209069331/composite MTH +0.65% gave up 0.8% and Realogy Holdings Corp. /zigman2/quotes/201151464/composite RLGY +1.22% lost 0.3% after Dahl reiterated his underweight ratings. "Our June A.G.E.N.T. Survey indicated moderating buyer traffic trends, warning of risk that near-term catalysts for builders will disappoint relative to rising expectations," Dahl wrote in a note to clients. Separately, CalAtlantic Group Inc.'s stock bucked the sector's trend by rallying 0.8%, after Dahl upgraded it to equal weight from underweight, citing its recent underperformance relative to the group. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF /zigman2/quotes/203468436/composite ITB +0.33% , which was down 0.6% in morning trade, has run up 25% year to date, while the S&P 500 /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX +0.0073% has gained 8.4% this year.




















