UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management reduced its Meritage Homes position by 13.7% in the second quarter, selling 24,756 shares and retaining 155,724 shares valued at approximately $13.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 98.44%, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $79.25; UBS raised its target to $88 and reiterated a Buy rating.
• Meritage Homes exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.42 versus the $1.30 consensus, though revenue fell 14.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a 2.8% annualized yield.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 13.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,724 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 24,756 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Meritage Homes worth $13,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 167,683 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at $2,207,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at $1,105,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at $342,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth about $112,498,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.1%

Meritage Homes stock opened at $67.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.00.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

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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