Denali Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Denali Advisors LLC has acquired 8,904 shares of Meritage Homes Corporation, valued at approximately $596,000, marking a new position for the institutional investor.
• Meritage Homes reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.04, exceeding estimates, but experienced a 4.6% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio of 15.47%.

Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,904 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $596,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the first 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 period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 54.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 660 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 5,941.7% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 725 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of MTH opened at $70.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.42. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $98.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $74.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.20.

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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.86.

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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