Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note 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 research note on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wedbush decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.14.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $71.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $103.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $665,840. This trade 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $221,000. Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 18.6% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 38,768 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 244,838 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,397,000 after purchasing an additional 15,337 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 9.8% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 89,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 7,997 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 444.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,340 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 6,809 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.