Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wedbush

Wedbush upgraded shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an outperform rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $196.83.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE MTH opened at $200.10 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.93. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $205.20.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 20.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.