Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Shares Acquired by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 94.5% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 8,844 shares valued at approximately $627,000.
• Meritage Homes reported earnings of $2.04 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.99, despite a 4.6% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.72 and a yield of 2.4%.

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 94.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,844 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC raised 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.6%

MTH stock traded up $0.44 on Friday, hitting $72.19. 397,104 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,469. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.29.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

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.