260,500 Shares in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 260,500 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,949,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 366.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 201.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $79.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $84.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.40.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore set a $77.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.63.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.