Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $126.00 to $118.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meritage Homes traded as low as $73.16 and last traded at $73.39, with a volume of 33217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.49.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $102.50 to $117.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $105.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (down previously from $205.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.08 and a 200-day moving average of $92.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.87.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.15. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.27 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.59%.

About Meritage Homes

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.