Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) EVP Javier Feliciano Sells 3,580 Shares

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,425,844.40. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 828,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,593. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.54 and a 200-day moving average of $72.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.48.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group set a $95.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.