Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Invests $1.88 Million in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Abacus Wealth Partners opened a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter, buying 28,576 shares worth about $1.88 million.
• Despite that purchase, the article highlights a cautious backdrop: Meritage Homes recently missed earnings and revenue estimates, and Zacks kept a Strong Sell view while cutting future earnings estimates.
• Insider activity has also been negative, with CAO Alison Sasser and CFO Hilla Sferruzza both selling shares, while analysts currently have a Hold consensus price target of $79.89.

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 28,576 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,880,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $143,980,000 after buying an additional 609,866 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $95,299,000 after acquiring an additional 527,265 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $75,051,000 after acquiring an additional 391,297 shares in the last quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,729,000. Finally, Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at approximately $17,613,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meritage Homes

Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut earnings estimates across multiple future periods for Meritage Homes, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027, FY2027, and FY2028, while keeping a Strong Sell rating. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also published a bearish “Bear of the Day” note, saying the company’s post-earnings estimate cuts since its April 22 report justify a Zacks Rank #5 outlook. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling added to the cautious tone, as CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares in a disclosed SEC filing, reducing her position by 14.29%.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s most recent earnings report was already weak, with EPS of $0.86 missing estimates and revenue of $1.12 billion coming in well below expectations, which continues to weigh on investor sentiment.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $59.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.97. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $834,352.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 124,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,540,772.35. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,895 shares of company stock valued at $3,719,339. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $86.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company's core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.

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