Woodson Capital Management LP Trims Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Woodson Capital Management LP lowered its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,000 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Woodson Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.09% of Meritage Homes worth $5,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 33,536 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,842,000 after acquiring an additional 13,538 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $3,205,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,235 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,396,000 after buying an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $14,663,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 388.4% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 42,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,140,000 after buying an additional 33,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH traded up $1.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $174.62. The stock had a trading volume of 186,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,324. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.23 and a fifty-two week high of $189.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.65.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.25.

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.