Analysts Set Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Target Price at $106.25

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.25.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MTH. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.39. The stock had a trading volume of 616,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 861,086. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $68.04 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $74.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.69.

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Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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.