Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “sell” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.78.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $64.39 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $56.66 and a 12-month high of $85.38. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.33.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.06). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.34%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 106.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 573 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 13.0% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,950 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.