Analysts Set Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Target Price at $106.25

Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.25.

MTH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in 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 last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $77.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $69.26 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 1.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.85.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.