Leibman Financial Services Inc. Acquires 12,031 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Leibman Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 101.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,905 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 12,031 shares during the period. Leibman Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,349,000 after acquiring an additional 78,087 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake 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 worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,337,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $63.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.01.

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

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.