Meritage Homes’ (MTH) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush restated their neutral rating on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) in a research note released on Tuesday morning,RTT News reports. They currently have a $103.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James downgraded Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $105.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.38.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $77.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.96 and its 200 day moving average is $92.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $73.05 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 10.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 11.47%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 65.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 32.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,750,000 after buying an additional 11,558 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 125.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 509 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.