Dark Forest Capital Management LP Acquires New Stake 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) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 0.07% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. 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 research report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on 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. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $81.85. 220,380 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 983,146. The stock's 50-day moving average is $73.64 and its 200-day moving average is $69.97. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.35. 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 twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.