ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,830 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,327 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $64.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.80. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Company 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.