Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $72.60 and last traded at $73.05, with a volume of 22998 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Raymond James cut Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 11.47%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,719 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently 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.