Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target Lowered to $60.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reduced its price target for Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00, indicating a potential downside of 15.03% from the current stock price.
• Meritage Homes' recent earnings report showed an earnings per share of $2.04, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue declined by 4.6% compared to the previous year.
• Analysts' ratings for Meritage Homes vary, with one sell rating, five hold ratings, and five buy ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.78.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the construction company's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.78.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $67.10. 1,941,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,956. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 96.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock worth $567,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 93.9% in the 1st 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% in the 2nd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,491,955 shares of the construction company's stock worth $99,916,000 after purchasing an additional 57,587 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake 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 raised its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

About Meritage Homes

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.