Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target Cut to $90.00 by Analysts at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush has reduced its price target for Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• The stock currently trades at approximately $69.52, suggesting a potential upside of 29.47% based on Wedbush's new target.
• Analyst ratings vary, with one sell rating, five hold ratings, and five buy ratings, leading to an average price target of $95.11.
• In recent transactions, insiders have been active, with Director Joseph Keough buying 4,000 shares at $66.16 each.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Wedbush from $103.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the construction company's stock. Wedbush's target price suggests a potential upside of 28.31% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.78.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MTH traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.14. The stock had a trading volume of 456,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,539. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.42. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 136.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.8% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.7% during the first 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. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 151.0% during the first 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 period. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 182.0% in the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 810 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.