Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Stock Position Raised by Sepio Capital LP

Sepio Capital LP boosted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,762 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,367 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP owned about 0.09% of Meritage Homes worth $3,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essential Partners LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 163.8% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 767.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 616 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 43.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Meritage Homes by 62.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,351 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 31st. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “sell” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.56.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 7.2%

MTH opened at $63.58 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.75. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.66 and a twelve month high of $85.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.