Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stake Reduced by Covestor Ltd

Covestor Ltd cut its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,538 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 52.6% in the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 290 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 183.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 326 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 36.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 99.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $142.35. 42,675 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,138. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $81.68 and a fifty-two week high of $152.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $123.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The construction company reported $5.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.10 by $0.88. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 19.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $155.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.33.

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