Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 7,594 Shares of Meritage Homes Corp (NYSE:MTH)
by Danessa LincolnRhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corp (NYSE:MTH) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,215 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.36% of Meritage Homes worth $4,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Meritage Homes by 1.7% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 373,587 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,640,000 after buying an additional 6,087 shares in the last quarter. THB Asset Management grew its position in Meritage Homes by 31.3% during the first quarter. THB Asset Management now owns 14,244 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth approximately $241,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Meritage Homes by 35.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,167 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aperio Group LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 3.3% during the first quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 22,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. 97.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of MTH stock opened at $68.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.33. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.63. Meritage Homes Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.24 and a fifty-two week high of $76.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 9.05 and a current ratio of 9.05.
Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.57. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 7.68%. The company had revenue of $890.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $855.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corp will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In related news, Director R. Odell Michael sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $335,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MTH. ValuEngine downgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $76.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Co raised their target price on Meritage Homes from $40.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TheStreet downgraded Meritage Homes from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.88.
Meritage Homes Company Profile
Meritage Homes Corporation designs and builds single-family 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 first-time and first move-up buyers. The company also offers luxury homes; and title insurance and closing/settlement services to its homebuyers.
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