Graham Capital Management L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation by 108.2% in Q1, owning 7,754 shares now valued at $550,000.
• Meritage Homes reported $2.04 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, though revenue fell 4.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43, with an annual yield of 2.1%, to be paid on September 30th.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 108.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,754 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 246.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH traded up $2.61 on Thursday, reaching $81.18. 1,046,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,250. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 1.35. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $74.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.21.

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

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Company 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.