Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 177.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,287 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,285 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 41.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $64.53 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.09. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

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

Meritage Homes 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.