Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Makes New $12.54 Million Investment in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors acquired 149,550 Meritage Homes shares worth approximately $12.54 million, representing about 0.23% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 98.44% of MTH.
• Meritage Homes beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.42 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, equal to an annualized $1.92 payout and a 2.7% yield. Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with an average “Hold” rating and a $79.25 price target versus the stock’s $71.14 opening price.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 149,550 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $12,540,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 163.8% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 43.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $71.14 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.03 and a 12 month high of $85.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $75.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.40.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zelman & Associates lowered Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, July 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.25.

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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