Empowered Funds LLC Trims Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 63.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,000 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 26,206 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $3,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $178.25. The stock had a trading volume of 180,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,755. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.28. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $137.70 and a 52-week high of $213.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.82.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.28 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 13.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MTH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James cut shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wedbush raised Meritage Homes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $218.17.

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.