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

Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) are going to split on Friday, January 3rd. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, November 25th. The newly minted 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. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $178.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.83. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $147.77 and a 1 year high of $213.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

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

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $205.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $197.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush raised shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.