Meritage Homes Corporation (MTH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.48 on March 31st

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.48 per share by the construction company on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a 11.6% increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43.

Meritage Homes has a payout ratio of 21.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Meritage Homes to earn $10.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.8%.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $63.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.94. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total transaction of $2,510,401.80. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,901,851 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,943,000 after buying an additional 16,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,980,000 after acquiring an additional 609,866 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,465,340 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $96,419,000 after acquiring an additional 12,386 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,299,000 after acquiring an additional 527,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at about $75,148,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.