Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $93.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $86.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.00.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.6%

MTH stock opened at $73.36 on Friday. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $58.03 and a 1-year high of $85.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.09 and its 200-day moving average is $70.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $1,880,000. Bayhunt Capital LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $7,922,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 581,200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,243,000 after acquiring an additional 63,770 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,003,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Meritage Homes by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 305,475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,100,000 after acquiring an additional 44,975 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 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.