US Bancorp DE Has $983,000 Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 139.9% in Q1, now holding shares worth $983,000.
• Meritage Homes reported a quarterly EPS of $2.04, surpassing expectations, although revenue fell 4.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43, translating to an annual yield of 2.4% with a payout ratio of 15.47%.

US Bancorp DE grew its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 139.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,867 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 8,086 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing 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

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.13.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.7%

MTH stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.65. 745,478 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,261,676. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $68.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.15 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 15.47%.

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.