Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $72.94 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.54. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $68.93 and a 12 month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,008,000 after purchasing an additional 292,317 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 205.5% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 418,884 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $64,433,000 after purchasing an additional 281,773 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $43,147,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meritage Homes

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.