161,308 Shares in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Purchased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management bought 161,308 shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter, a position worth about $10.6 million and equal to roughly 0.23% of the company.
• Meritage Homes reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.86 versus estimates of $0.98 and revenue of $1.12 billion versus expectations of $1.55 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, payable June 30, which works out to an annualized yield of about 2.7%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 161,308 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $10,614,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.23% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $72.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $65.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.03 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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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