Swedbank AB Sells 49,400 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Swedbank AB cut its Meritage Homes stake by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 49,400 shares and ending with 92,485 shares valued at about $6.1 million.
• Meritage Homes missed earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.86 EPS on revenue of $1.12 billion, both below consensus estimates and down from the prior year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share payable June 30, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $79.89 average price target.

Swedbank AB decreased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,485 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 49,400 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.13% of Meritage Homes worth $6,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew 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 buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $64.77 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.03 and a 52-week high of $84.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $64.07 and its 200 day moving average is $68.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm's revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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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