Key Points
- Insider selling: Meritage Homes CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares on May 12 for about $79,066, cutting her direct stake by 14.29%. She also previously sold 151 shares in February.
- Weak recent results: The company reported $0.86 EPS on revenue of $1.12 billion for the latest quarter, missing analyst estimates and posting a 17.5% year-over-year revenue decline. The stock also traded down 1.5% around the time of the report.
- Analysts remain cautious: Recent research notes included multiple estimate cuts and a bearish Zacks “Bear of the Day” call, while the overall analyst consensus is still Hold with an average price target of $79.89.
Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of Meritage Homes 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
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 Stock Down 1.5%
MTH opened at $61.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50-day moving average price is $64.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.03 and a 12 month high of $84.74.
Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). The company 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%.The firm'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 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.
Meritage Homes Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend 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%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.89.
Get Our Latest Research Report on MTH
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 58.6% during 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. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 102.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $22,621,000 after buying an additional 161,806 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.
Meritage Homes News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:
- Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes’ Q1 2027 EPS estimate to $0.96 from $0.99 and kept a Strong Sell rating, signaling weaker near-term sentiment for the homebuilder.
- Negative Sentiment: The firm also lowered estimates for Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027, FY2027, and FY2028, suggesting analysts see softer earnings momentum ahead for MTH.
- Negative Sentiment: Zacks published a bearish “Bear of the Day” note, saying Meritage’s downward EPS revisions since its April 22 earnings report were enough to earn a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling added to the cautious tone, with CAO Alison Sasser selling 1,273 shares in a transaction disclosed Tuesday, May 12.
Meritage Homes Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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