Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Rating Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $235.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $205.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MTH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Raymond James raised their target price on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush upgraded Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.17.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.2 %

MTH stock opened at $183.44 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.82. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $126.46 and a twelve month high of $213.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 13.58%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 23.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,456 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter valued at $273,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,228 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,805 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 62.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 17,719 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.