Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Receives $106.25 Consensus PT from Analysts

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four 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 brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.25.

Several research firms have recently commented on MTH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $73.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.17. 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 has a 1-year low of $72.19 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 11.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 65.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,750,000 after acquiring an additional 11,558 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 125.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 509 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 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.