Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.14 and last traded at $69.01, with a volume of 483299 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $72.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $76.00 and its 200 day moving average is $88.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 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.