Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.06), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE MTH traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.72. 169,984 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,767. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.08. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $56.66 and a 52 week high of $85.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “sell” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial set a $72.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.56.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.