136,831 Shares in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Acquired by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC initiated a new position in Meritage Homes, buying 136,831 shares valued at about $9.0 million in the fourth quarter.
• Meritage Homes reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.86 versus $0.98 expected and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.55 billion forecast, with revenue down 17.5% from a year ago.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, implying a 3.0% annualized yield, even as insiders have recently sold shares and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 136,831 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $9,003,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC owned 0.19% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 44.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company's stock worth $143,980,000 after purchasing an additional 609,866 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,465,340 shares of the construction company's stock worth $96,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,386 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company's stock worth $95,299,000 after purchasing an additional 527,265 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 727,678 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,733,000 after purchasing an additional 21,759 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $64.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.76. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.03 and a 12-month high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. Meritage Homes's revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total transaction of $834,352.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 124,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,540,772.35. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 48,895 shares of company stock valued at $3,719,339 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Profile

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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