Jump Financial LLC Buys Shares of 9,677 Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by purchasing 9,677 shares valued at approximately $686,000 during the first quarter of the year.
• Despite the acquisition of shares by various institutional investors, Meritage Homes's stock price experienced a 0.2% decline recently, opening at $77.69.
• Meritage Homes announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, with an annualized payout representing a yield of 2.2%, reflecting a 15.47% dividend payout ratio.

Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,677 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,892 shares of the construction company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Finally, Bank of America assumed 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.2%

MTH stock opened at $77.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $72.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.79.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

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

About Meritage Homes

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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