Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Down 5.1% - Here's Why

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) shares traded down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $168.11 and last traded at $168.36. 191,241 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 406,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $197.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday. Raymond James cut shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded Meritage Homes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $215.14.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $186.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 1.82.

Meritage Homes shares are going to split on Friday, January 3rd. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, November 25th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, December 31st.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MTH. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company's stock worth $363,714,000 after purchasing an additional 74,422 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 718,607 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $116,307,000 after buying an additional 17,843 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $100,286,000 after buying an additional 5,732 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 483,159 shares of the construction company's stock worth $99,081,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,206,000 after acquiring an additional 148,898 shares during the period. 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.