Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Stake Lessened by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 71.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,382 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 245,084 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.15% of Meritage Homes worth $6,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $63,053,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company's stock worth $95,299,000 after acquiring an additional 527,265 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,051,000 after acquiring an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth about $17,613,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 792,731 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,162,000 after acquiring an additional 262,928 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $70.23 on Monday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $85.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $93.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.25.

Key Headlines Impacting Meritage Homes

Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $1.42 per share, exceeding the $1.30 analyst consensus. The result reflected strong operational execution and better-than-expected earnings performance. Meritage Homes Surpasses Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasized margin discipline and a strategic shift in its product mix, which could help protect profitability while the housing market faces softer demand. MTH Q2 Deep Dive
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings call highlighted resilience and continued operational execution, but also acknowledged margin pressure and demand-related challenges that could make the recovery uneven. Meritage Homes Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue was $1.41 billion, below the $1.43 billion consensus estimate and down 14.1% from the prior year. EPS also declined from $2.04 a year earlier, signaling weaker demand and profitability despite the quarterly earnings beat. Meritage Homes Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Meritage Homes guided to third-quarter EPS of $1.10–$1.30, well below the $1.47 analyst consensus. The lowered outlook is likely the main catalyst for investor concern because it points to continued pressure on sales and margins.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company's core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.

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