Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Price Up 7.8% – Should You Buy?

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)’s stock price rose 7.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $81.99 and last traded at $81.5050. 139,559 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 973,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $86.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The business’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Meritage Homes by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,223 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.