Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $184.48, but opened at $171.30. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $168.62, with a volume of 212,513 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush upgraded Meritage Homes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $213.83.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 1.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $196.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth $61,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.