Meritage Homes (MTH) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) will release its earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect Meritage Homes to post earnings of $3.55 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The construction company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.18 by $0.20. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. On average, analysts expect Meritage Homes to post $18 EPS for the current fiscal year and $20 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $150.43 on Monday. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $179.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.93.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. Wedbush downgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $148.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $35,340.69. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,859 shares in the company, valued at $284,408.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $35,340.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,408.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Meritage Homes by 108.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,337 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 5,490.0% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth $161,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.