Sophron Capital Management L.P. Purchases Shares of 30,696 Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 30,696 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,722,000. Meritage Homes accounts for approximately 1.9% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MTH. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $68.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.15.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 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.