Insider Selling: Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) CEO Sells $2,510,401.80 in Stock

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,917,154.61. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $75.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.98 and its 200-day moving average is $72.60. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $84.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.48.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 27.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MTH. Citigroup initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $95.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.