Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 500 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,600 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $567,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 93.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $207,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,024 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.0% in the second quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,491,955 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $99,916,000 after purchasing an additional 57,587 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.7% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,352,648 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,876,000 after purchasing an additional 661,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the first quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,811,000 after purchasing an additional 963,438 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $66.46 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $102.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 15.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.86.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.