Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $154.69, but opened at $165.31. Meritage Homes shares last traded at $161.82, with a volume of 157,788 shares.

The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. The business 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 17.03% and a net margin of 12.03%.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.67.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $798,813.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $798,813.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.3% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 6.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,979 shares of the construction company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 2,438 shares of the construction company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 6.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 1.77.

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.