Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 9.9%, resulting in ownership of 460,300 shares, which represent about 1.0% of their portfolio.
• Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes, increasing ownership by 30.09%, while CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares, reducing his position by 3.04%.
• Meritage Homes recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, yielding 2.3%, with a payout ratio of 15.47%.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 9.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 460,300 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 50,800 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes accounts for approximately 1.0% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.64% of Meritage Homes worth $30,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% during 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 during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of MTH opened at $74.81 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $102.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $75.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.42.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.14.

Meritage Homes Company 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.

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