LSV Asset Management Reduces Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

LSV Asset Management reduced its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 210,000 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $32,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth about $248,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,102 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,870 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 18.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,279,000 after acquiring an additional 32,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the third quarter worth $435,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MTH. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $63.84 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.67 and a 200-day moving average of $83.43.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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