Wedbush Reaffirms Underperform Rating for Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH)

Wedbush reaffirmed their underperform rating on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $148.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Meritage Homes from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $178.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $183.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.75. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $109.23 and a 1 year high of $189.96.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 20.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.99%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. 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.