Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Short Interest Up 14.3% in January

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.3 %

Meritage Homes stock opened at $73.75 on Monday. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $72.19 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.70.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid 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 yield of 2.03%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James cut Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought 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 represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 65.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,539,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,750,000 after buying an additional 11,558 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 125.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 509 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.