Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Raymond James

Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $220.00 price target on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an underperform rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $196.83.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $200.10 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $172.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.50. 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 has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $205.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 20.31 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 10.6% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 95,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,128 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 33,536 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,842,000 after acquiring an additional 13,538 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $3,205,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 140.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,482 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 6,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth $1,908,000. 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.