Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Price

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.38% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MTH. Zacks Research downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.63.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of MTH stock traded up $2.62 on Tuesday, reaching $72.81. 436,591 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,052,139. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 4,407 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 58.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after buying an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 17,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,621,000 after acquiring an additional 161,806 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.