Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 74.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 85,433 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 243,167 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $17,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 734.4% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 272,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,804,000 after purchasing an additional 239,511 shares during the period. Long Pond Capital LP acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,303,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter valued at $25,495,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth $22,887,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth $23,106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $178.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.82. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $137.70 and a one year high of $213.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $193.02 and a 200 day moving average of $184.24.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.29. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.98 EPS. Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James lowered Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four 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 $218.17.

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.