111,479 Shares in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Acquired by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired 111,479 shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter, worth approximately $9.35 million and representing 0.17% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 98.44% of the stock.
• Meritage Homes reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, ahead of the $1.30 estimate, but revenue declined 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion. Shares opened at $70.48, down 2.4%, with a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” and a $79.25 price target.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to $1.92 annually and a 2.7% yield; the dividend is payable September 30 to shareholders of record September 15.

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 111,479 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $9,348,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.17% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth $12,540,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $1,880,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter valued at $916,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $9,003,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth $6,650,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.4%

MTH stock opened at $70.48 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.03 and a 52 week high of $85.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is $74.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zelman & Associates downgraded Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $93.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.25.

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.

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