Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $101.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $66.96 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $98.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 17.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at $575,000. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 9,800 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.6% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,668 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth about $18,949,000. Finally, Lodge Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth about $21,729,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.