Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Meritage Homes has a consensus “Hold” rating from 12 brokerages, with eight holds and four buys; the average 12-month price target is $76.75.
• Institutional investors own approximately 98.44% of MTH shares, with several investment firms recently increasing their positions.
• The stock recently traded at $62.93, near its 52-week low, while quarterly EPS of $1.42 exceeded estimates but revenue fell 14.1% year over year. Meritage Homes also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, yielding about 3.1%.

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.75.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MTH shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $72.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, July 6th.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 2.0% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,223 shares of the construction company's stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,916 shares of the construction company's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 163.8% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,772 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MTH stock opened at $62.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.87. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

About Meritage Homes

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 move-up buyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans, sizes and price points. Its communities typically feature energy-efficient designs and include standard features intended to improve home performance, comfort and affordability.

Meritage Homes develops communities in selected markets across the South, Southeast and West, including areas of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

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