Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 930,000 shares, a decrease of 18.4% from the July 31st total of 1,140,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 449,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $198.07. 310,127 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,832. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.03. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $109.23 and a 1 year high of $210.58. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 21.09 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 718,607 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $116,307,000 after purchasing an additional 17,843 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 523,332 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,164,000 after acquiring an additional 26,682 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 13.5% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 490,660 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $86,091,000 after acquiring an additional 58,350 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,118 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,153,000 after acquiring an additional 10,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,297,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meritage Homes

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.