Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $70.69 and last traded at $70.57, with a volume of 435295 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $72.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Raymond James lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter valued at about $6,973,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 264.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,259 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 8,166 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 103.2% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 27,190 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,576,000 after purchasing an additional 13,812 shares during the period. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,883,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meritage Homes

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.