Back to top

Image: Bigstock

If You Invested $1000 in Meritage Homes a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

Read MoreHide Full Article

For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. Not only can it impact your investment portfolio, but it can also help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Meritage Homes (MTH - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to MTH for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Meritage Homes' Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Meritage Homes' main business drivers.

Based in Scottsdale, AZ, Meritage Homes Corporation is one of the leading designers and builders of single-family homes.  The company primarily engages in building and selling single-family homes for entry-level, first-time, move-up, luxury and active adult buyers in historically high-growth regions of the United States.

On Dec 31, 1996, it acquired the homebuilding operations of its predecessor company through a merger. Since then, it have engaged in homebuilding and related activities and ceased to operate as a real estate investment trust. Meritage Homes operates as a holding company and has no independent assets or operations.

The company operates through two principal business segments: Homebuilding (which accounted for 99.6% of total 2022 revenues) and Financial Services (0.4%).

The Homebuilding segment engages in acquiring and developing land, constructing homes, marketing and selling these constructed homes, and providing warranty and customer services. The company has homebuilding operations in three regions, namely West, Central and East, across nine states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Meritage Homes also operates Carefree Title Agency, Inc., a wholly-owned title company whose core business includes title insurance and closing/settlement services. Notably, the company’s Financial Services segment includes revenues and expenses from Carefree Title.

At the end of first-quarter 2023, the company actively sold homes in 278 communities.

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Meritage Homes ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in June 2013 would be worth $3,212.41, or a 221.24% gain, as of June 29, 2023, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 172.48% and gold's return of 48.84% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for MTH.

Shares of Meritage Homes have outperformed its industry in the year to date. The company is benefiting from the strategy of targeting entry-level and first-move-up buyers and is expected to boost performance over the long haul. This strategy will likely produce higher volume in the future for the company, especially from digital communities, and help it gain market share across the region served. It is also benefiting from its focus on increasing gross margin and maximizing profits on every sale. Also, its ample liquidity and a healthy balance sheet bode well. However, volatile mortgage rates, increased inflationary pressure and supply chain disruptions are headwinds. Earnings estimates for 2023 have moved south in the past 30 days, reflecting analysts’ concern over the stock’s growth potential.

The stock has jumped 20.77% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 3 higher, for fiscal 2023; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.

See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Meritage Homes Corporation (MTH) - free report >>

Published in