Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Scheduled to Split on Friday, January 3rd

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Friday, January 3rd. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, November 25th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, December 31st.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH opened at $156.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.99. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $147.77 and a 52-week high of $213.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.83.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.98 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 21.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $205.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $197.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs and builds single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. It acquires and develops land; and constructs, markets, and sells homes for entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.