Brokerages Set M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE:MHO) Target Price at $161.67

M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE:MHO) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $161.6667.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MHO. Zacks Research cut M/I Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer set a $165.00 target price on M/I Homes in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of M/I Homes in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of M/I Homes from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of M/I Homes in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

M/I Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MHO opened at $141.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $133.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.02. M/I Homes has a 12-month low of $100.22 and a 12-month high of $158.92.

M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.03. M/I Homes had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that M/I Homes will post 18.44 EPS for the current year.

M/I Homes declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at M/I Homes

In related news, insider Susan E. Krohne sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.28, for a total value of $671,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,104.76. This trade represents a 44.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On M/I Homes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of M/I Homes during the third quarter worth about $35,871,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of M/I Homes by 116.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 300,912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,464,000 after buying an additional 161,881 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in M/I Homes by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,408,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $157,909,000 after acquiring an additional 125,423 shares in the last quarter. Long Pond Capital LP acquired a new position in M/I Homes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,694,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in M/I Homes by 689.4% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 114,773 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,685,000 after acquiring an additional 100,233 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About M/I Homes

M/I Homes, Inc is a publicly traded residential homebuilder founded in 1976 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company designs, markets and constructs single-family homes and townhome communities across the United States, offering a range of floor plans with customizable design options. Its product portfolio includes starter homes, move-up homes and luxury models, as well as multi-family residences in urban and suburban infill locations.

In addition to its core homebuilding operations, M/I Homes provides mortgage, title and closing services through its in-house affiliate M/I Financial Services.