iA Global Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 107,530 Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management opened a new position in Meritage Homes, buying 107,530 shares worth about $6.65 million in the first quarter and ending with roughly 0.16% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment on MTH is mixed, with recent rating changes including cuts to neutral or sell by some firms, while others still have buy targets; the overall consensus is currently Hold with a price target of $79.89.
• Meritage Homes reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $0.86 versus $0.98 expected and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.55 billion expected, though the stock recently traded near its 52-week high at $81.65.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 107,530 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $6,650,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,916 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $86.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $81.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.60 and a 200-day moving average of $69.48. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,147.74. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes 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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