Earnest Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 95.7%, holding a total of 1,352,648 shares worth approximately $95.88 million.
• Several hedge funds also increased their holdings in Meritage Homes during the first quarter, contributing to institutional investors owning 98.44% of the company's stock.
• Meritage Homes reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.04, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite a 4.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 95.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,352,648 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 661,310 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 1.88% of Meritage Homes worth $95,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 173.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,731 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 408.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 29,364 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,449,000 after purchasing an additional 23,592 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the construction company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,696 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 59,847 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,206,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director 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. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 687,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,847. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.81. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio 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.