Meritage Homes Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MTH)

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 2,714 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 833% compared to the typical daily volume of 291 call options.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $3.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.79. 195,092 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 616,862. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.37. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $84.74. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.48.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,980,000 after acquiring an additional 609,866 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.0% in the second quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,491,955 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,916,000 after purchasing an additional 57,587 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,299,000 after purchasing an additional 527,265 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $75,148,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $104.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.63.

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.