Caxton Associates LP Has $1.82 Million Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Caxton Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 97.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,379 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,117 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total transaction of $595,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,837,936.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total transaction of $2,003,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,793.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $201.32. 46,343 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 427,780. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.93. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $205.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.64.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.36 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.99%.

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.