Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target Increased to $160.00 by Analysts at Wedbush

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its price objective upped by Wedbush from $148.00 to $160.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the construction company’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q4 2024 earnings at $4.31 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $20.51 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $21.10 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $23.14 EPS.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. They issued an outperform rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $196.83.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $202.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $172.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.64. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $109.23 and a 52-week high of $205.20. The company has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 20.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors 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 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meritage Homes news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,837,936.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,793.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 523,332 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,164,000 after purchasing an additional 26,682 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 13.5% during the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 490,660 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,091,000 after acquiring an additional 58,350 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,118 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,153,000 after acquiring an additional 10,885 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth $76,297,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 260,541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,386,000 after acquiring an additional 33,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.