Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys New Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon purchased 821,387 Meritage Homes shares worth approximately $68.9 million, acquiring a 1.26% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 98.44% of the company.
• Meritage Homes exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.42 in EPS versus the $1.30 consensus, though revenue fell 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to $1.92 annually and a 2.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $79.25.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 821,387 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $68,873,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.26% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 134.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,740,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 4,407 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,621,000 after purchasing an additional 161,806 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $73.42 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.36. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.03 and a 52-week high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The firm's revenue was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Wall Street Zen raised Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zelman & Associates cut Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Meritage Homes 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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