Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Shares Bought by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 100.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,266 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,133 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 246.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,819,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,731. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $67.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.53.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.11.

About Meritage Homes

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.