Meritage Homes' (MTH) Underperform Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their underperform rating on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Wedbush currently has a $148.00 price target on the construction company's stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MTH. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $178.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock traded up $6.49 on Wednesday, hitting $188.30. 481,863 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 414,032. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 1.75. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $189.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.21 and a 200-day moving average of $159.02.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $35,340.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $284,408.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $459,356. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the construction company's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.3% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 6.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,979 shares of the construction company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.