Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Down to $177.04

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $177.04, but opened at $172.50. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $175.79, with a volume of 101,711 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.67.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. As a group, analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.41 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.99%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 33,536 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,842,000 after acquiring an additional 13,538 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,205,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,235 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,396,000 after buying an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 388.4% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 42,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,140,000 after buying an additional 33,400 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,029 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,368,000 after acquiring an additional 14,362 shares during the last quarter. 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.