Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP has acquired 51,833 shares of Meritage Homes, valued at approximately $3.67 million, reflecting solid institutional interest in the company.
• Meritage Homes has received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $87.71, indicating a spectrum of optimism among analysts.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, anticipated to yield 2.3%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 51,833 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,674,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.07% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock worth $567,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $207,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,024 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 95.7% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,352,648 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $95,876,000 after acquiring an additional 661,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the 1st quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $79,811,000 after acquiring an additional 963,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $82.93. 1,585,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,647. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 1.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.47%.

Meritage Homes 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.