StockNews.com Downgrades Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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 reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $72.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.54. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $68.93 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,279 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 23,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,668,000 after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,151,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,807,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 156.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 20,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 12,583 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.