Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $184.48, but opened at $171.30. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $168.62, with a volume of 212,513 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush raised shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.83.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 5.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $196.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.74. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at $61,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 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.