Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Director Purchases $264,640.00 in Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE:MTH traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.28. 336,610 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,076. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.80. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock worth $567,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925,148 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 93.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $207,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,024 shares during the last quarter. Long Pond Capital LP grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 592.7% during the first quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $79,811,000 after purchasing an additional 963,438 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 278.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,802 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,969,000 after purchasing an additional 788,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after purchasing an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.