Meritage Homes Co. (MTH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.43 on March 31st

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.43 per share by the construction company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Meritage Homes has a dividend payout ratio of 13.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Meritage Homes to earn $10.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.9%.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $73.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.38 and its 200 day moving average is $90.03. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $71.05 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,531 shares of company stock worth $111,355 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.