Brokerages Set Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) PT at $106.25

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $71.00 on Friday. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $68.71 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.92. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $74.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.