Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Announces Earnings Results

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The construction company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:MTH traded down $1.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,070,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.53. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $58.03 and a twelve month high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 134.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 4,407 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,621,000 after purchasing an additional 161,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Zelman & Associates lowered Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Meritage Homes from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group set a $86.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

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.