Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by StockNews.com

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MTH. Raymond James lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $205.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $197.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush raised Meritage Homes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $215.14.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $9.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.45. The company had a trading volume of 741,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,812. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $186.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.83. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $147.77 and a 12-month high of $213.98.

Meritage Homes's stock is set to split on Friday, January 3rd. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, November 25th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, December 31st.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $5.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 21.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the third quarter worth $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at about $64,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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