Vestcor Inc Acquires 15,188 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 246.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,361 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,188 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MTH. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after buying an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 710,281 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,345,000 after acquiring an additional 304,427 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.9% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 598,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $42,435,000 after acquiring an additional 293,089 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 205.5% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 418,884 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $64,433,000 after acquiring an additional 281,773 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 82.2% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 511,100 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,227,000 after acquiring an additional 230,600 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Meritage Homes Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded up $3.87 on Friday, reaching $71.21. 1,856,789 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,280,884. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The firm's 50-day moving average is $67.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.16.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Meritage Homes 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.