Atom Investors LP Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Atom Investors LP opened a new position in Meritage Homes, buying 95,073 shares valued at about $6.26 million in the fourth quarter and holding roughly 0.14% of the company.
• Analysts are mixed on MTH, with the stock carrying an average "Hold" rating and an average price target of $79.89; recent calls ranged from a Bank of America cut to $72 to UBS setting an $86 buy target.
• Meritage Homes reported Q1 results below expectations, including EPS of $0.86 versus the $0.98 estimate and revenue of $1.12 billion, down 17.5% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share payable June 30.

Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 95,073 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $6,256,000. Atom Investors LP owned approximately 0.14% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group set a $86.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $74.27 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.03 and a 12-month high of $84.74. The business's fifty day moving average is $66.53 and its 200 day moving average is $68.94. 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 cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.39.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Meritage Homes Company 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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