Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target to $195.00

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 7.81% from the stock’s current price.

MTH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MTH traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $180.88. 98,880 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,058. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.37. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 1.75. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $109.23 and a twelve month high of $183.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 20.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 33,536 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,842,000 after buying an additional 13,538 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,205,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,235 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,396,000 after buying an additional 8,225 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 388.4% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 42,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,140,000 after purchasing an additional 33,400 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,029 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,368,000 after acquiring an additional 14,362 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.