Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Chairman Buys $819,610.00 in Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $73.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $72.19 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.60 and its 200 day moving average is $91.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 11.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd 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. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 2.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,719 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.