Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 119.0%, owning 24,805 shares valued at approximately $1.76 million at the end of the last reporting period.
• A significant number of institutional investors, including Greenhaven Associates Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, have also raised their holdings in Meritage Homes, indicating a strong interest in the stock.
• Meritage Homes recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.04, which exceeded analyst expectations, though its revenue was down compared to last year, highlighting potential challenges ahead.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 119.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,805 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,479 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.4% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.0% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 21,361 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 15,188 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 188.9% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 14,907 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 9,747 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.1% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,363 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 8,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 94.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,844 shares of the construction company's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.13.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.65. The stock had a trading volume of 745,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,261. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.71 and a 200 day moving average of $69.84. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% 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 corporate insiders.

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.