Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes Corporation, purchasing 7,270 shares valued at approximately $487,000 during the second quarter.
• Meritage Homes recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.4%, to be paid to shareholders on September 30th.
• Research analysts have varying outlooks for Meritage Homes, with target prices ranging from $60.00 to $100.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,270 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $72.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.23. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $103.76. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 15.47%.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.

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