Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Sells 15,200 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its Meritage Homes stake by 11.1% in Q1, selling 15,200 shares and leaving it with 121,631 shares worth about $7.52 million.
• Meritage Homes reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.86 EPS versus a $0.98 estimate and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.55 billion expected; revenue also fell 17.5% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, or $1.92 annually, for a yield of 2.7%, while analysts currently hold a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $80.22.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,631 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 15,200 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC owned 0.18% of Meritage Homes worth $7,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $71.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $72.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.40. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.03 and a 1 year high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. UBS Group set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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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