Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stock position in Meritage Homes Corporation by 74.5%, owning only 9,620 shares after selling 28,130 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Meritage Homes reported quarterly earnings of $2.04 per share, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.99, although their quarterly revenue dropped 4.6% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 98.44% of Meritage Homes' stock, reflecting strong interest from the investment community in the construction company.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 74.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,620 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 28,130 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Meritage Homes by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 710,281 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,345,000 after acquiring an additional 304,427 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 598,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $42,435,000 after acquiring an additional 293,089 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 205.5% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 418,884 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $64,433,000 after acquiring an additional 281,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 82.2% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 511,100 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,227,000 after acquiring an additional 230,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $73.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 1.29. 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 $68.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.12.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 15.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush dropped their price target 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. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.13.

Meritage Homes 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.

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