Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $69.14 and last traded at $69.01, with a volume of 483299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 1.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.04.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.43 dividend. 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 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 65.7% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,338,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 7.3% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 120,767 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,765,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.