Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.72.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $68.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.15. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 14.06%.

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.