Meritage Homes Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MTH)

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 2,714 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 833% compared to the typical volume of 291 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the 2nd 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, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $3.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,862. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $84.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.48.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.32). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 8.96%.The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $104.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.63.

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.