Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target Cut to $60.00 by Analysts 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 - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $60.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the construction company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential downside of 15.03% from the stock's current price.

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

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $70.62. 409,440 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 971,684. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the company'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 owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 136.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 151.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,325 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 15,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 182.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the construction company's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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