Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research has upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Meritage Homes reported a quarterly EPS of $2.04, surpassing expectations, although its revenue has decreased by 4.6% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity was notable, with the CEO selling shares while a director purchased a significant amount, indicating mixed confidence among executives.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MTH. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.14.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MTH stock opened at $73.04 on Tuesday. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $103.76.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at $221,000. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 38,768 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,596,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 244,838 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,397,000 after buying an additional 15,337 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 89,832 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,018,000 after buying an additional 7,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 444.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,340 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 6,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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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