Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. reduced its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 56.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 551 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 704 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Insider Activity

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

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $76.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

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.