Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Hits New 52-Week High at $210.84

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $210.84 and last traded at $207.65, with a volume of 208630 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $204.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.00.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.02 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total transaction of $2,003,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,297,000. Long Pond Capital LP acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at $32,303,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the first quarter valued at about $25,495,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $22,887,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth about $23,106,000. 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.