AlphaMark Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC cut its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,748 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 3.5 %

Meritage Homes stock opened at $156.15 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.23 and a fifty-two week high of $189.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $171.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.99%.

Meritage Homes Company 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.