First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP Has $2.69 Million Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP decreased its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,500 shares during the quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,279,000 after acquiring an additional 32,810 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 9.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 244,776 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,092 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,763 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.0% during the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 6,356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $69.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.96 and its 200-day moving average is $79.24. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 14.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America started coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.72.

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.