Insider Selling: Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) CFO Sells 10,928 Shares of Stock

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total transaction of $834,352.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 124,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,540,772.35. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.65. 828,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,052,593. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $84.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.54 and a 200-day moving average of $72.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.72 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Meritage Homes by 134.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,051,000 after buying an additional 391,297 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,621,000 after buying an additional 161,806 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.63.

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.