1492 Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• 1492 Capital Management increased its Meritage Homes stake by 26.6% in the first quarter, adding 19,130 shares to reach 91,090 shares valued at about $5.63 million.
• Meritage Homes reported Q1 earnings and revenue below expectations, posting EPS of $0.86 versus $0.98 expected and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.55 billion estimated, with revenue down 17.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share and has drawn mixed analyst sentiment, with a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $79.89.

1492 Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 26.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,090 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 19,130 shares during the period. Meritage Homes accounts for about 2.1% of 1492 Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. 1492 Capital Management LLC owned 0.14% of Meritage Homes worth $5,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,830,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 150.0% in the 1st quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,443 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,058,000 after buying an additional 3,774 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 675,770 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,790,000 after acquiring an additional 94,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,031.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 92,741 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,122,000 after acquiring an additional 89,779 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $85.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.63 and a 200 day moving average of $69.24. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.03 and a 12 month high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MTH. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $86.00 price target on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.89.

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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