Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.73), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH traded down $1.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.41. 1,303,996 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,008,944. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.50. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $58.03 and a 1-year high of $84.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at $19,917,154.61. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 47,622 shares of company stock valued at $3,640,273 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,299,000 after purchasing an additional 527,265 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after buying an additional 391,297 shares during the last quarter. Sophron Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,613,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 792,731 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,162,000 after buying an additional 262,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 692.1% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 214,796 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,134,000 after buying an additional 187,678 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meritage Homes

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.