Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Sets New 52-Week High at $189.19

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $189.19 and last traded at $186.66, with a volume of 28823 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $181.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MTH. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $178.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $35,340.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,859 shares in the company, valued at $284,408.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $459,356 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 3.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,170,062 shares of the construction company's stock worth $510,374,000 after acquiring an additional 151,946 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 1.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 9.8% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 689,600 shares of the construction company's stock worth $84,400,000 after purchasing an additional 61,594 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $91,164,000 after purchasing an additional 26,682 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.