StockNews.com Upgrades Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) to Buy

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on MTH. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $4.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $169.48. The company had a trading volume of 577,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,757. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.77. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $109.23 and a twelve month high of $179.68.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 12.54%. On average, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,156.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 0.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 39,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,834,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 12.5% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.