Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $71.88 and last traded at $72.74, with a volume of 178954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MTH. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $80.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.03. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 11.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,531 shares of company stock valued at $111,355 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Meritage Homes by 31.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,113 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,689,000 after buying an additional 3,107 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,546 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,750,000 after acquiring an additional 11,558 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 125.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 509 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 30,505 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. 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.