Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 324,684 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,848 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $20,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $1,880,000. Bayhunt Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,922,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 581,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after acquiring an additional 63,770 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 234.7% in the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,090 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after acquiring an additional 23,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,003,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $71.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MTH. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.22.

Meritage Homes Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.