7,143 Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Bought by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,143 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 36.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,337 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.48% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH opened at $132.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $141.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.15. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $152.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.65.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $1.53. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 21.15% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 19.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Meritage Homes from $155.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $137.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.33.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Peter L. Ax sold 3,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.50, for a total value of $448,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,246,835.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Peter L. Ax sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.50, for a total value of $448,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,246,835.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $72,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $982,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,831 shares of company stock worth $721,841. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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 first-time and first move-up buyers in Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.