Peak Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes, purchasing 7,356 shares valued at approximately $493,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• Recent analyst reports show a range of ratings for Meritage Homes, with a consensus price target of $87.71 and significant price target adjustments from multiple firms.
• Meritage Homes will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share on September 30th, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 15.47%.

Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,356 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,439 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 154.0% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 59,236 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,112,000 after acquiring an additional 35,918 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at $359,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 341,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,190. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.33. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $104.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.35.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 15.47%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.14.

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.