Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $156.33, but opened at $151.94. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $152.91, with a volume of 63,368 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MTH shares. Raymond James downgraded Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $197.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $215.14.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.82. The business's 50 day moving average is $184.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.67.

Meritage Homes's stock is scheduled to split on the morning of Friday, January 3rd. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, November 25th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, December 31st.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,458 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,178,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth $214,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Meritage Homes by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. First National Bank of Hutchinson bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter valued at $610,000. Finally, Instrumental Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth $169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.