Shellback Capital LP Buys New Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Shellback Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,242 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $67.69 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.35 and its 200 day moving average is $78.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.50. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.06 EPS. Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.06%.

Meritage Homes Company 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.