Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.8889.

MTH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group set a $86.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 163.8% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $84.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.03 and its 200-day moving average is $69.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.39. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $58.03 and a 52 week high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

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.