Meritage Homes (MTH) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) is anticipated to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 23rd. Analysts expect Meritage Homes to post earnings of $1.75 per share and revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter. Individual interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, analysts expect Meritage Homes to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $11 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $64.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.17 and its 200 day moving average is $82.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’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 value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.