LSV Asset Management Purchases 10,900 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,300 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 10,900 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.63% of Meritage Homes worth $36,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 17,318.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,118 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,153,000 after purchasing an additional 10,885 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth $305,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $189.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $210.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.81.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.02 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total transaction of $2,003,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.