Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Now Covered by Analysts at Truist Financial

Analysts at Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the construction company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 24.79% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.33.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $72.12 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $84.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.46.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total transaction of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total transaction of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,901,851 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,943,000 after acquiring an additional 16,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,980,000 after buying an additional 609,866 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,465,340 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $96,419,000 after buying an additional 12,386 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,299,000 after acquiring an additional 527,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth approximately $75,148,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.