Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH – Free Report) by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $3,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 734.4% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 272,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,804,000 after acquiring an additional 239,511 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,495,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,887,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at about $23,106,000. Finally, Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 216.7% in the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 190,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,337,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.
Meritage Homes Stock Performance
MTH traded up $6.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.44. The stock had a trading volume of 388,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,199. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $137.70 and a twelve month high of $213.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $192.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.28.
Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.29. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meritage Homes Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.58%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James cut shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush upgraded Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.17.
Meritage Homes 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 entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.