Peak Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings 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 its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,356 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

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

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $78.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.20. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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