Yousif Capital Management LLC Buys 14,030 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 97.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,498 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,030 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after purchasing an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,008,000 after acquiring an additional 292,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 205.5% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 418,884 shares of the construction company's stock worth $64,433,000 after acquiring an additional 281,773 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 865,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,911. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $66.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.06 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.06%.

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.