Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Downgraded to "Inline" Rating by Evercore ISI

Key Points

• Meritage Homes has been downgraded by Evercore ISI from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating, with a new target price of $82.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.64%.
• Other analysts have varied opinions, with Bank of America raising its target to $85.00 while Zacks upgraded its rating from "strong sell" to "hold".
• During the last quarter, Meritage Homes reported earnings of $2.04 per share, surpassing estimates, though revenue showed a 4.6% year-over-year decline.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Evercore ISI from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $82.00 price target on the construction company's stock, down from their prior price target of $100.00. Evercore ISI's target price indicates a potential upside of 16.01% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.57.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $70.69 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.35. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.42. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $102.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the 1st 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. 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.