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

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

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded up $4.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.48. 577,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 408,757. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $179.68. 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 company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.95.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted 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. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total value of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,813.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total value of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at $798,813.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.