Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Acquires 63,770 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 581,200 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,770 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $38,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.6% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,806 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 23.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.7% in the third quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,054 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MTH opened at $60.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.65 and a 200-day moving average of $70.49. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.03 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total transaction of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. 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 that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,622 shares of company stock valued at $3,640,273. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $95.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.33.

Meritage Homes 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.