Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.52 EPS

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52, reports. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes updated its FY24 guidance to $19.20-20.70 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 19.200-20.700 EPS.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock traded up $5.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.64. The company had a trading volume of 158,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,386. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $179.68. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.18 and a 200-day moving average of $152.58.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 13.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors 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.