Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $1.10 Million Investment in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,184 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 22,162 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after buying an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 111.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,621,000 after buying an additional 161,806 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MTH. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $71.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.31. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $85.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%.The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Meritage Homes Company 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.