Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $178.25.

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE MTH opened at $180.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $162.69 and a 200-day moving average of $156.54. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $183.78.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 20.41 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 13.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,618.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.