Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its Meritage Homes stake by 0.9% in Q3, selling 26,845 shares and now holds 2,885,513 shares (~4.10%) worth about $209 million.
• Meritage raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 (from $0.43), payable March 31 with an ex-dividend date of March 17, implying a $1.92 annual payout and roughly a 2.8% yield.
• In the latest quarter Meritage reported EPS of $1.67, beating estimates by $0.12, while revenue declined 11.9% year‑over‑year to $1.44 billion.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,885,513 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 26,845 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.10% of Meritage Homes worth $208,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 366.8% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 11.4% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 201.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the construction company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,160 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 $67.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.46.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MTH. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Truist Financial started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $95.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.33.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $834,352.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 124,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,540,772.35. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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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