Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.3333.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MTH opened at $63.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $84.74.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The company’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,844.40. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total transaction of $834,352.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 124,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,540,772.35. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 47,622 shares of company stock valued at $3,640,273 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.