Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $68.71 and last traded at $70.10, with a volume of 25621 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,409 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.