Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 17,795 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Janus Henderson Group reduced its Meritage Homes stake by 13.2%, selling 17,795 shares and retaining 117,310 shares worth approximately $7.25 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.44% of the company.
• Meritage Homes reported quarterly earnings of $1.42 per share, beating estimates of $1.30, while revenue of $1.41 billion fell 14.1% year over year and missed expectations slightly.
• The stock traded near $74.95, and analysts’ consensus rating was “Hold” with an average price target of $79.25. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, yielding about 2.6% annually.

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,310 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 17,795 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.18% of Meritage Homes worth $7,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company's stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 4,407 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,051,000 after acquiring an additional 391,297 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 17,343 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,621,000 after acquiring an additional 161,806 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $74.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.36. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.03 and a 52 week high of $85.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%.The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.25.

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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