Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $64.86 and last traded at $67.37, with a volume of 207580 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on 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 reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 4.9 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.69. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change 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 Activity

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 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.