Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Meritage Homes Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eleven brokerages, with an average target price of $91.13 over the next twelve months.
• In recent insider trading, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares at an average cost of $66.16, increasing his stake by over 10%, while Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares at $70.00.
• Meritage Homes reported $2.04 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue saw a 4.6% decline year-over-year.

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.13.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 96.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $567,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925,148 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 93.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $207,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,024 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,491,955 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $99,916,000 after purchasing an additional 57,587 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 95.7% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,352,648 shares of the construction company's stock worth $95,876,000 after purchasing an additional 661,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the 1st quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,811,000 after purchasing an additional 963,438 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 5.7%

NYSE MTH opened at $71.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $67.90 and its 200 day moving average is $70.29. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

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.

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