Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.6 %

Meritage Homes stock traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $70.76. 146,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,076. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $68.93 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $75.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.44.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 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, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $47,008,000 after purchasing an additional 292,317 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 205.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.