Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $65.24, but opened at $69.47. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $69.0050, with a volume of 150,262 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MTH shares. UBS Group set a $86.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,147.74. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake 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. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 163.8% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 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 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.