LSV Asset Management Increases Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 100.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,000 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 210,000 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.58% of Meritage Homes worth $29,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,687 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,349,000 after purchasing an additional 78,087 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 246,813 shares of the construction company's stock worth $37,965,000 after purchasing an additional 4,831 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 139.9% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the construction company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.13.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,232,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,593. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. 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 cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 1.29. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $68.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.09.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.15 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

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.