Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 105.2% during the first quarter, owning about 1.20% of the company worth approximately $60.9 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Meritage Homes, with most setting neutral to strong-buy ratings and a target price range from $60 to $100.
• Meritage Homes recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43, representing a 2.1% yield, to be paid on September 30th.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 105.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 859,736 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 440,852 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 1.20% of Meritage Homes worth $60,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired 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 $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH traded down $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $78.22. The company had a trading volume of 196,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,828. The company has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $74.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 15.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

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.