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

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.25.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $69.08 on Friday. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $65.19 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.