Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Short Interest Update

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 652,900 shares, a decline of 21.1% from the March 31st total of 827,900 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 433,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,156.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 39,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,834,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,948 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.7 %

MTH stock traded up $4.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $169.48. The company had a trading volume of 593,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,394. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.56 and a 200 day moving average of $153.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.77. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $179.68.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 19.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 13.99%.

About Meritage Homes

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.