Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 99.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,941 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,051,395 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 366.8% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 11.4% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 201.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $75.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.59.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 27.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MTH. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

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

About Meritage Homes

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.