Alison Sasser Sells 151 Shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 151 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.80, for a total transaction of $11,596.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,057.60. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $2.84 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.65. The company had a trading volume of 828,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,594. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 27.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $95.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.