Meritage Homes' (MTH) Hold (C+) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Meritage Homes' stock rating has been restated as a "hold (C+)" by Weiss Ratings, while other analysts have issued mixed ratings, with price targets ranging significantly from $60 to $90.
• The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, despite a 4.6% year-over-year decrease in revenue.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Phillippe Lord selling 6,950 shares, while Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares, indicating differing perspectives on the company's stock prospects.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of 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 boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.57.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH traded down $1.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.62. The stock had a trading volume of 98,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50-day moving average price is $75.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.33. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $102.91.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. Meritage Homes's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth $33,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 54.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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