Invesco Ltd. Acquires 168,013 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. substantially increased its shareholding in Meritage Homes by 99.9%, acquiring 168,013 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 336,158 shares, worth approximately $23.8 million.
• Meritage Homes reported a net margin of 10.27% and earnings per share of $2.04 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $87.71 for Meritage Homes, with varying ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold."

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 99.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 336,158 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 168,013 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.47% of Meritage Homes worth $23,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.8% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 136.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,325 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 15,218 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 182.0% during the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 151.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 7.0%

MTH stock traded up $5.2330 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.1230. The stock had a trading volume of 2,077,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,729. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.29. 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 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.75.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MTH. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.71.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.