Brokerages Set Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) PT at $87.71

Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.7143.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE MTH opened at $77.69 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 54.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.