New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires 8,249 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 378%, acquiring an additional 8,249 shares and bringing its total to 10,431 shares valued at approximately $739,000.
• A range of institutions, including Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC and Nisa Investment Advisors LLC, have also boosted their holdings in Meritage Homes, highlighting strong institutional interest, with 98.44% of the stock owned by such investors.
• In the latest earnings report, Meritage Homes posted a net margin of 10.27% and earnings per share of $2.04, surpassing analysts' expectations while experiencing a 4.6% decline in revenue year-over-year.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 378.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,431 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,249 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Connable Office Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 5,924 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 128.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,490 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 420,000 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,770,000 after acquiring an additional 210,000 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 25,400 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,800,000 after buying an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 139.9% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,867 shares of the construction company's stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 8,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MTH. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

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

Meritage Homes Stock Up 4.5%

Meritage Homes stock traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.86. The stock had a trading volume of 382,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,317. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $69.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.81. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 1.29. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

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

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.