Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 75.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,097 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 90,657 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 23.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 366.8% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MTH. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.33.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 6.5%

MTH opened at $65.06 on Thursday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.03 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.84. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total transaction of $834,352.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 124,961 shares in the company, valued at $9,540,772.35. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total transaction of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.