Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.52 EPS

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52, reports. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes updated its FY24 guidance to $19.20-20.70 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 19.200-20.700 EPS.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of MTH traded up $5.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.64. 158,773 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,386. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $109.23 and a 1 year high of $179.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.18 and its 200-day moving average is $152.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 1.77.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. 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. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 owns 1,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,408.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $35,340.69. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,408.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total value of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at $798,813.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 91.6% during the 4th 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. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.67.

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.