Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 19,266 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management sharply reduced its Meritage Homes stake in Q4, selling 19,266 shares and cutting its position by 84.9% to 3,430 shares worth about $226,000.
• Meritage Homes reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.86 versus the $0.98 estimate and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.55 billion expected, while revenue fell 17.5% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.8%, even as analysts maintain a mixed outlook with an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 84.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,430 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 19,266 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $226,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,731,000. Lodge Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,729,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 402,664 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,165,000 after acquiring an additional 46,554 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,880,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 107,394 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,779,000 after acquiring an additional 49,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 5.2%

MTH stock opened at $68.63 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.43. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.03 and a 1-year high of $84.74. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $64.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group set a $86.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.89.

About Meritage Homes

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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