Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Invests $6.97 Million in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 34,005 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $6,973,000. Meritage Homes makes up approximately 1.8% of Lisanti Capital Growth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned about 0.09% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 95,218 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,128 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 79,358 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 204.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,378 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,495,000. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth approximately $23,106,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MTH traded down $0.80 on Monday, reaching $189.97. The stock had a trading volume of 183,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,112. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $132.00 and a 1 year high of $213.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $194.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.73.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MTH. Raymond James downgraded Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Meritage Homes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.17.

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.