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

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

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MTH. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.22.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $73.48 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 42.0% in the second quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,557 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,711 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Moulton Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 62.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,351 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.