Vestcor Inc Raises Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 246.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,361 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 15,188 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $67.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 15.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.13.

About Meritage Homes

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.