Yousif Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 97.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,498 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,030 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $626,777,000 after buying an additional 26,889 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 571,120 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,850,000 after acquiring an additional 217,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,910,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of MTH stock opened at $64.31 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.12 and a 200-day moving average of $74.31. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.06 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs and builds single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. It acquires and develops land; and constructs, markets, and sells homes for entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.