Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Key Points

• Meritage Homes missed quarterly expectations: Earnings per share came in at $1.11, $0.06 below consensus, while revenue of $1.18 billion fell short of the $1.29 billion estimate.
• Shares declined to $61.81 following the results, with the stock trading well below its 52-week high of $85.38 and below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.48, equating to an annualized $1.92 payout and a 3.1% yield. Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus, with an average price target of $73.56.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.06), FiscalAI reports. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded down $2.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.81. 1,201,164 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,492. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.17. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $56.66 and a 52-week high of $85.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.33.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Truist Financial set a $72.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a "sell" rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.56.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.

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