Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock to Split on Friday, January 3rd

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) shares are scheduled to split on Friday, January 3rd. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, November 25th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, December 31st.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $154.10 on Monday. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $147.77 and a 1-year high of $213.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.82.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.29. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.98 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 21.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush raised shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $197.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.14.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,458 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 9.3% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth about $572,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.7% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,750 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $64,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.