Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Receives $83.63 Average PT from Analysts

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.6250.

Several research analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group set a $95.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock opened at $77.71 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $84.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.47.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 27.22%.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.