Phocas Financial Corp. Grows Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Phocas Financial Corp. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,848 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $3,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,349,000 after purchasing an additional 78,087 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $64.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.95. 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.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.72.

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.