As part of our series: Gold, Bitcoin, Commodities, Agriculture, Real Estate, etc. — Diversification Is Key… But How Much and Where? 🏡 

Stock Snapshot:
📉 MTH – $64.04 (–2.24%, as of Jun 13, 2025, 4:10 PM ET)

🔔 Trigger Alert: Insider Buys — Big Time

📅 June 12, 2025 – Director Joseph Keough grabbed 4,000 shares at $66.16 (+10%)
📅 March 13, 2025 – Same Joseph, different batch: 5,000 shares at $69.28 (+14%)
📅 Feb 10, 2025 – Executive Chairman Steven Hilton: 11,000 shares at $74.51 (+1%)

👀 That’s a lot of skin in the game. These execs are clearly bullish. Should you be?

🧠 Institutions Love Meritage Too

📊 Ownership of 103.83% of the float. (Yes, that’s more than 100%. Don't ask how. Just nod.)
Here’s the 🏛️ Who’s Who:

• BlackRock: 11.88M shares

• Vanguard: 8.0M

• State Street, Dimensional, Morgan Stanley, Citadel — all in.

They’re either really smart… or building a secret gated community for fund managers.

🔍 For full Institutional Ownership breakdown, see here.

🏘️ What Does Meritage Homes Actually Do?

Meritage Homes builds homes. But not just any homes — affordable, first-time buyer, and move-up residences in booming U.S. states like Texas, Arizona, Florida, and more. They also offer mortgages, insurance, title services, and possibly hugs if you close quickly. 🤝

💰 Let’s Crunch the 2024 Numbers (Don’t Worry, We Made It Fun)

• 🏡 14,606 sales orders (+11% YoY)

• 💵 $6.3B in revenue (+5%)

• 📉 Average Selling Price (ASP) dipped 6%, but that’s okay — more homes sold.

• 📈 Gross margin ticked up to 24.9%

• 🧾 Net income: $786.2M ($21.44 EPS) — up 6%

• 🏦 Cash: $651.6M — a drop from $921.2M, but still a healthy cushion

• 🏗️ Spent more on land, launched Elliott acquisition

• 🔄 Share buybacks: $125.9M worth in 2024

• 🧃 Dividend yield: 2.68%

💬 Translation? It’s still a money-making machine — just a bit dusted with real estate realities.

👉 Want the full picture? Dive into Meritage’s financials here.

📉 But Q1 2025 Was a Little Rough

• 🧱 Revenue: $1.3B (–8% YoY)

• 🧮 Net earnings: $123M (–34% YoY)

• ⚠️ Gross margin slipped to 22.0% (from 25.8%) due to:

  • More financing incentives

  • Higher land costs

  • Lower sales volume

Still, profits stayed positive — and that’s no small feat in a high-rate, tight-housing world.

🧐 Our Take:

1. 🏗️ Cyclical slowdown? Yes. But it looks temporary.

2. 💰 Still profitable, still buying back stock = shareholder-friendly.

3. 🧲 Insiders and institutions are clearly bullish — follow the smart money?

4. 💸 Valuation: P/E of 7.36 and forward P/E of 7.12. That’s cheap, folks.

5. 📉 Stock is ~30% below ATH ($106.99, Sept 2024). Entry point? Possibly.

🐻 Risks Worth Noting

• 🏦 Higher mortgage rates? Ouch.

• 🧱 Construction costs? Could climb.

• 🏃 Competition? Everywhere.

• 🌪️ Hurricanes, wildfires… and yes, a squirrel rebellion against bulldozers remains a non-zero possibility. 🐿️⚔️

Interested in another investment idea?
Check our take on UnitedHealth Group.

🏡 Final Verdict

Meritage may be a solid pick in the real estate space — especially if you believe rates will ease and buyers return. And hey, if you’re bullish on America’s need for homes (and homes with attached espresso bars and tankless water heaters), MTH deserves a hard look.

🧴 Disclaimer
Don’t sell your house to buy housing stocks. (Unless your house is already a stock. In which case… wow.)
As always, invest at your own risk. 🏠📉📈

🧭 Want More Like This?

👉 Browse our Insider Purchases Center
👉 Explore our Follow the Pundits Hub: When Big Bets Matter
👉 Check out our Young Guns & Turnaround Stocks 
👉 Dive into Stock Market Humor & Serious-ish Plays
👉 International Investment Opportunities and value plays await here.
👉 For even older brands on new missions, explore our Corporate Resurrection Series. Nope, doesn't exist anymore.