Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $69.95, but opened at $73.02. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $74.34, with a volume of 80,886 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $96.13.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 7.2%

The firm's 50-day moving average is $67.22 and its 200-day moving average is $70.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 11.50%. Meritage Homes's revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 14.06%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

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

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