Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $59.00 and last traded at $59.0310, with a volume of 655666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $95.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.33.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 3.6%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. 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. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total transaction of $834,352.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 124,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,540,772.35. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 3,031.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 92,741 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,122,000 after acquiring an additional 89,779 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Meritage Homes by 996.6% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,873 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,291 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 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.