Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Now Covered by Analysts at Truist Financial

Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $90.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock.

MTH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $95.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.33.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $71.32 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $84.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.72 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 27.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.