Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $71.88 and last traded at $72.74, with a volume of 178954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.38. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current 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 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 11.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $130,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,537,000. Woodson Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 38,300 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,031,000. 98.44% of the stock is 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.