Lodge Hill Capital LLC Acquires 35,000 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Lodge Hill Capital increased its Meritage Homes stake by 17.5% in the first quarter, adding 35,000 shares for a total holding of 235,000 shares valued at approximately $14.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.44% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with five Buy and seven Hold ratings and a consensus target price of $79. Meritage Homes recently reported adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share, beating estimates, although revenue fell 14.1% year over year.
• Meritage Homes shares opened at $71.47, down 2.4%, while the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to a 2.7% yield and a 35.23% payout ratio.

Lodge Hill Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 235,000 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Meritage Homes makes up approximately 2.1% of Lodge Hill Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Lodge Hill Capital LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Meritage Homes worth $14,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Meritage Homes by 134.3% during 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 51.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 58.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew 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 last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $86.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.00.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.4%

Meritage Homes stock opened at $71.47 on Thursday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $85.38. The business's fifty day moving average is $73.49 and its 200 day moving average is $70.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

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. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.Meritage Homes's revenue was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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