Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,515,827 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 73% from the previous session’s volume of 875,764 shares.The stock last traded at $76.35 and had previously closed at $76.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush raised Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $97.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James cut Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $105.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.57.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.75. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.87.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.15. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.59%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.