Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Up 7.8% – Should You Buy?

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)’s stock price rose 7.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $81.99 and last traded at $81.5050. Approximately 139,559 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 973,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group set a $86.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.39.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 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 firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 163.8% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. 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.