Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.13.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 96.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $567,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925,148 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 93.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $207,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,024 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,491,955 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,916,000 after purchasing an additional 57,587 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 95.7% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,352,648 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,876,000 after purchasing an additional 661,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the 1st quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,811,000 after purchasing an additional 963,438 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 5.7%

NYSE MTH opened at $71.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $67.90 and its 200 day moving average is $70.29. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

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.