Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Announces $0.43 Quarterly Dividend

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.43 per share by the construction company on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th.

Meritage Homes has a dividend payout ratio of 18.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Meritage Homes to earn $10.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.0%.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $64.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.12 and its 200-day moving average is $74.59. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,621,000 after purchasing an additional 161,806 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 4,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.