3 Likely Homebuilder M&A Candidates: Stock Picker
CNBC.com Writer
Single-family home prices dipped in July, and are seen stabilizing near the lows without the homebuyer tax credit that ended in April, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price indexes. What does this mean for the overall housing market? Josh Levin, homebuilding analyst at Citi, shared his outlook.
“I wouldn’t say there’s significant recovery—the housing market is still in a pretty tough situation,” Levin told CNBC.
Levin said expectations in homebuilders are very low and would take a very small catalyst, such as a small uptick in home sales, in order to get stocks moving.
“Or you can have a bigger catalyst—M&A is a possibility in the sector as well,” he said.
Medium-sized builders such as Beazer, Meritage or Ryland could be acquired by the likes of DRHorton , MDC or even KBHome , said Levin.
"Homebuilders usually rally in December in anticipation of the spring selling season," he added.
“They could rally now, but it probably wouldn’t be in anticipation of the spring selling season, but [instead] in recognition of the fact that things are bad—but not getting much worse in the housing market,” he said.
Levin’s Homebuilder Picks:
Beazer Homes
Pulte
Meritage Homes
Toll Brothers
______________________________
Scorecard—What He Said:
- Levin's Previous Appearance on CNBC (Aug. 31, 2010)
______________________________
Housing Market News & Analysis:
- 3 Homebuilders That'll See Fast Growth: Analyst
- A Housing Play for Bulls and Bears?
- Home Price Double Dip Begins
______________________________
CNBC Slideshows:
______________________________
CNBC Data Pages:
______________________________
______________________________
Disclosures:
Citi owns shares of and has investment banking clients who own shares of BZH and TOL.
Citi currently has, or had within the past 12 months, BZH, TOL, PHM and MTH as clients and non-investment banking, securities-related services were provided.
______________________________
