Vest Financial LLC Decreases Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Vest Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,731 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,004 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,980,000 after purchasing an additional 609,866 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,465,340 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $96,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,386 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,299,000 after purchasing an additional 527,265 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 727,678 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,733,000 after purchasing an additional 21,759 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total transaction of $272,939.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total transaction of $2,510,401.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at $19,917,154.61. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $67.44 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.42. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.03 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.