Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Meritage Homes has a consensus “Hold” rating from 12 analysts: seven rate the stock a hold and five rate it a buy. The average 12-month price target is $79.25.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, exceeding the $1.30 consensus estimate, but revenue fell 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion. Shares opened at $67.42, below the average analyst target.
• Meritage Homes announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% annualized yield, while institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.25.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zelman & Associates lowered Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $93.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $67.42 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.00. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $58.03 and a 52-week high of $85.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 5.04 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 176.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 11,200 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 7,144 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth $369,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 8,054.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,840,902 shares of the construction company's stock worth $573,610,000 after purchasing an additional 6,757,010 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $289,000. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 17,877 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company's core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.

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