Sepio Capital LP Purchases 8,367 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Sepio Capital LP lifted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 55,762 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 8,367 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $3,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 47,402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,979,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 2.0% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,223 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 43.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 163.8% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 9.1% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,772 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $63.58 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.66 and a 52-week high of $85.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.22 and a 200-day moving average of $68.75.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore set a $65.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “sell” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.56.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.