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

Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.25.

Several brokerages have recently commented on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of MTH stock traded up $2.97 on Wednesday, reaching $74.82. 1,208,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,331. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.23. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $69.26 and a 1-year high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

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.