Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser Sells 1,273 Shares

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Alison Sasser also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 24th, Alison Sasser sold 151 shares of Meritage Homes stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.80, for a total value of $11,596.80.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.51. The stock had a trading volume of 638,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,008,014. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.43. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.03 and a 1 year high of $84.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.17.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the first quarter worth approximately $822,000. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 67.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 21,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 8,509 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 7.1% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 119,408 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,384,000 after buying an additional 7,935 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 43.9% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MTH. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.89.

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.