Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 6,158 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 157.9% in the first quarter, owning 10,058 shares worth $713,000.
• Meritage Homes recently reported $1.62 billion in revenue for the quarter, surpassing estimates, although it experienced a 4.6% decline year-over-year.
• The company has recently seen mixed ratings from analysts, with one firm slashing the target price while others upgraded their assessments, leading to a consensus price target of $87.71.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 157.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,058 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 6,158 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock worth $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 75.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 710,281 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,345,000 after purchasing an additional 304,427 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 95.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 598,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $42,435,000 after purchasing an additional 293,089 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 571,120 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $87,850,000 after purchasing an additional 217,618 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 82.2% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 511,100 shares of the construction company's stock worth $36,227,000 after buying an additional 230,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.5%

MTH traded up $1.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.41. 167,223 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 982,793. The company's fifty day moving average price is $70.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 15.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MTH. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Wedbush reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

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.