Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) CEO Phillippe Lord Sells 32,820 Shares

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.65. The company had a trading volume of 828,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,593. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.54 and its 200-day moving average is $72.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group set a $95.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.