Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Given New $77.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $90.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the construction company's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.75% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MTH. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.63.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MTH traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $67.10. 176,587 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,245. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.96 and a 200-day moving average of $80.94. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.06 EPS. Analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 33.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted 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 worth $462,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by 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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