Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 26,316 shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.44% of the company.
• Meritage Homes reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, exceeding estimates of $1.30, while revenue fell 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48, equivalent to an annualized $1.92 payout and a 2.8% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $79.25.

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 26,316 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,207,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth $12,540,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at $1,880,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the first quarter valued at $916,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $9,003,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth about $6,650,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $67.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.03 and a 1 year high of $85.38. The business's fifty day moving average is $74.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%.The company's revenue was down 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $93.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.25.

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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