Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Down to $177.04

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $177.04, but opened at $172.50. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $175.79, with a volume of 101,711 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.75. The firm's 50-day moving average is $161.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.99%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total value of $121,638.14. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,813.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,297,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,170,062 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $510,374,000 after purchasing an additional 151,946 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 779,549 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $135,797,000 after purchasing an additional 143,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 449,233 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $54,982,000 after purchasing an additional 118,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 432,310 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $75,308,000 after purchasing an additional 91,648 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.