Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 93.9%, acquiring an additional 1,417,024 shares to reach a total of approximately 2.93 million shares.
• Meritage Homes recently reported earnings exceeding analyst estimates, with $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter and revenue of $1.62 billion, although revenue declined 4.6% year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share was recently paid, representing a 2.2% yield and a payout ratio of 15.47%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 93.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,926,900 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 1,417,024 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.07% of Meritage Homes worth $207,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.8% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 41.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,892 shares of the construction company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in 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 during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Wedbush reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock traded up $5.2330 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.1230. The stock had a trading volume of 2,077,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,729. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $70.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.29.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given 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 currently 15.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.