Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $154.69, but opened at $165.31. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $161.82, with a volume of 157,788 shares changing hands.

The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.92%.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MTH. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at $798,813.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,170,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $510,374,000 after purchasing an additional 151,946 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 826,791 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $144,027,000 after buying an additional 12,841 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 779,549 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $135,797,000 after acquiring an additional 143,440 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 9.8% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 689,600 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $84,400,000 after acquiring an additional 61,594 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 523,332 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,164,000 after purchasing an additional 26,682 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.56 and a 200 day moving average of $152.95.

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.