Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Downgraded by Wolfe Research to Hold

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “sell” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore set a $65.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.78.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $64.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.02. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.33. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $56.66 and a 12-month high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.06). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth about $112,498,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,873,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 267.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 356,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,861,000 after acquiring an additional 259,291 shares in the last quarter. Atlas FRM LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth about $18,447,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth approximately $14,510,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.