Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $104.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Meritage Homes from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $129.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 6th. TheStreet raised shares of Meritage Homes from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $106.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $87.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $110.86.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $109.47 on Thursday. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $62.51 and a 1 year high of $117.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $107.10 and a 200-day moving average of $89.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The construction company reported $7.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.06. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 27.92% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 12.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 4.04%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $594,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 44,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,888,510. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.16, for a total transaction of $88,588.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,615 shares in the company, valued at $412,688.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 5,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $594,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,441 shares in the company, valued at $4,888,510. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,683 shares of company stock valued at $1,290,994 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $36,473,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 252.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 488,657 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,054,000 after purchasing an additional 350,204 shares in the last quarter. Long Pond Capital LP purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,752,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $23,345,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 277.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 286,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,154,000 after acquiring an additional 210,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

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Meritage Homes Corp. engages in the design and construction of single family attached and detached homes. It operates through the Homebuilding and Financial Services segments. The Homebuilding segment acquires and develops lands, constructs homes, markets and sells those homes, and provides warranty and customer services.