Brokerages Set Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Target Price at $97.72

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.72.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of MTH stock traded down $1.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.31. 812,982 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,890. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $66.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,349,000 after buying an additional 78,087 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.