Greenhaven Associates Inc. Purchases 695,355 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 94.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 695,355 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes makes up about 1.6% of Greenhaven Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Greenhaven Associates Inc. owned 2.00% of Meritage Homes worth $101,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:MTH traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $63.63. The company had a trading volume of 792,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,732. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 1.50. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $66.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

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.