Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) to Issue $0.75 Quarterly Dividend

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share by the construction company on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th.

Meritage Homes has a payout ratio of 13.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Meritage Homes to earn $21.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.8%.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.5 %

MTH traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.07. 282,527 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 422,227. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.64. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $210.58. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 20.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.