Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from UBS Group

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its price target lowered by UBS Group from $88.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MTH. Melius Research began coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $65.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.1%

MTH stock opened at $64.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $56.66 and a 1 year high of $85.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.33.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 43.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 106.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 573 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,950 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth approximately $234,000. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.