Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,229 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $183.44 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $126.46 and a 1 year high of $213.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $195.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.05. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MTH. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $205.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.17.

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.