Graham Capital Management L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 56.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,724 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,854 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,108,000. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,191,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,743 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,112,000 after purchasing an additional 5,857 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 7,648 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE MTH opened at $67.69 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $68.35 and its 200 day moving average is $78.45.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.06 EPS. Research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

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.