Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,110,000 shares, an increase of 14.3% from the January 15th total of 2,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 938,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,531 shares of company stock valued at $111,355. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 156.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 20,607 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 12,583 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,537,000. Finally, Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 38,300 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James cut shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MTH stock traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $74.22. 584,782 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 959,878. The business's fifty day moving average is $80.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.15. 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 has a 12-month low of $71.05 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 11.47%.

About Meritage Homes

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.