Moulton Wealth Management Inc. Acquires 1,554 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Moulton Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 101.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,089 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Moulton Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,008,000 after acquiring an additional 292,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 205.5% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 418,884 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $64,433,000 after acquiring an additional 281,773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $63.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released 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). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.06 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MTH. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. 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 for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.