Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.14.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $73.04 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $103.76.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 156.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 20,607 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 12,583 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $7,151,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,279 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $101,668,000 after buying an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.