KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 6,600 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS significantly increased its holdings in Meritage Homes, purchasing 6,600 additional shares to reach a total of 14,100 shares, valued at approximately $999,000.
• Meritage Homes reported earnings per share of $2.04 for the recent quarter, surpassing expectations, despite a 4.6% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• The company also announced a dividend of $0.43 per share, yielding 2.44% annually, with an overall dividend payout ratio of 15.47%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 88.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,100 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 136.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,325 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 15,218 shares during the period. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 182.0% in the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $70.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.42. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. The trade was 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. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.