Short Interest in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Grows By 14.3%

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) saw a significant growth in short interest during 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 trading volume of 938,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $73.75 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $72.19 and a 1-year high of $106.99. 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 (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 11,558 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 125.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 509 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 47.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

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.