Evercore ISI Raises Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target to $100.00

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $97.00 to $100.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential upside of 43.43% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.11.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $69.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st 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. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.