Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) PT Raised to $195.00

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $180.00 to $195.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 7.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $181.03 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $109.23 and a twelve month high of $183.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.71.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. As a group, research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 20.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at $798,813.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 33,536 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,842,000 after purchasing an additional 13,538 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $3,205,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,235 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,396,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 388.4% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 42,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,140,000 after acquiring an additional 33,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,029 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,368,000 after purchasing an additional 14,362 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is 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.