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

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

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $69.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.17. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $65.19 and a 12 month high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $3,218,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is 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.