Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 3,031.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 92,741 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 89,779 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $6,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,901,851 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,943,000 after acquiring an additional 16,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Meritage Homes by 44.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,980,000 after purchasing an additional 609,866 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,465,340 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $96,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,386 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,299,000 after purchasing an additional 527,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of MTH stock opened at $85.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.24.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MTH. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Profile

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.