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

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $73.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 632,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,194. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $72.19 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 11.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James downgraded Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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.