Austin Woffinden Sells 143 Shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) EVP Austin Woffinden sold 143 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.80, for a total transaction of $10,982.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,581,696. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MTH opened at $75.47 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore set a $77.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,731,000. Lodge Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $21,729,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 13.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 402,664 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,165,000 after purchasing an additional 46,554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 90.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 119,754 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,804,000 after purchasing an additional 56,746 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the third quarter valued at $37,477,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.