UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Stock Price

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its target price decreased by UBS Group from $126.00 to $118.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

MTH has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $102.50 to $117.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price (down previously from $205.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $105.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.56.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $76.12 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $73.05 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $89.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 734.4% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 272,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,804,000 after acquiring an additional 239,511 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the third quarter worth approximately $44,029,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the third quarter worth approximately $36,365,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,206,000 after acquiring an additional 148,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 26.9% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 483,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $99,081,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.