Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 63.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 217,472 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 371,784 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.33% of Meritage Homes worth $18,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essential Partners LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 163.8% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 43.9% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MTH. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.8%

MTH stock opened at $63.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.03 and a 12-month high of $85.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $72.57 and its 200 day moving average is $69.63.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

About Meritage Homes

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.