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

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

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.4 %

MTH opened at $74.49 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $69.26 and a one year high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.