Truist Financial Initiates Coverage on Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH)

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.33.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.8%

Meritage Homes stock opened at $72.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.48. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $84.74.

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

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 $19,917,154.61. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meritage Homes

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.