Alberta Investment Management Corp Boosts Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 100.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,400 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,700 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock worth $101,668,000 after buying an additional 695,355 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 710,281 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,345,000 after buying an additional 304,427 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.9% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 598,694 shares of the construction company's stock worth $42,435,000 after buying an additional 293,089 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 571,120 shares of the construction company's stock worth $87,850,000 after buying an additional 217,618 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 82.2% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 511,100 shares of the construction company's stock worth $36,227,000 after buying an additional 230,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded up $0.89 on Tuesday, reaching $73.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,232,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,593. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $68.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.09.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.13.

About Meritage Homes

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.