Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 73.6% in the first quarter, now holding shares worth approximately $1.5 million.
• Meritage Homes recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.04 per share, surpassing estimates, though revenue declined 4.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, reflecting a 2.4% yield, with a low dividend payout ratio of 15.47%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 73.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,145 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,968 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 246.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded down $1.86 on Thursday, hitting $76.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 434,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 985,968. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.87. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MTH shares. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.