Meritage Homes’ (MTH) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Bank of America

Bank of America restated their neutral rating on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) in a report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $82.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $75.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $104.00 price target (up previously from $101.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.63.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $76.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.79. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.32). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 8.96%.The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 17.48%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 305,475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,100,000 after purchasing an additional 44,975 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 581,200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,243,000 after buying an additional 63,770 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 234.7% in the 4th quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,090 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after buying an additional 23,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 27,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

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.