Swedbank AB Has $6.09 Million Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its Meritage Homes stake by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 92,485 shares worth about $6.09 million. Despite the trim, institutional ownership remains very high at 98.44%.
• Analysts turned more cautious on earnings, with Zacks Research cutting near- and medium-term EPS estimates for 2026-2028 and lowering several quarterly forecasts. Even so, Zacks kept a Hold rating on the stock.
• Meritage Homes reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $0.86 versus the $0.98 consensus and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.55 billion expected. Revenue fell 17.5% year over year, though the company recently boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share.

Swedbank AB trimmed its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,485 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 49,400 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.13% of Meritage Homes worth $6,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Meritage Homes News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered Meritage Homes’ near-term and medium-term EPS estimates, including FY2026 to $5.17 from $6.10, FY2027 to $6.17 from $7.04, and FY2028 to $7.38 from $8.17, suggesting reduced earnings momentum ahead. Meritage Homes estimate cuts
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also cut quarterly forecasts for Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026, Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, and Q4 2027, reinforcing concerns that earnings could come in below earlier expectations. Quarterly estimate cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the revisions, Zacks Research maintained a Hold rating, indicating a cautious stance rather than a strongly bearish call. Hold rating maintained

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total transaction of $2,510,401.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% 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, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total transaction of $272,939.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,622 shares of company stock valued at $3,640,273. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MTH opened at $65.16 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $84.74. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.32.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

About Meritage Homes

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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