Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Announces Earnings Results

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17, Zacks reports. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $78.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.87. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $73.05 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $86.21 and a 200 day moving average of $92.55.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target (down previously from $205.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.38.

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.