Equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) increased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH) from $24.00 to $28.00 in a report issued on Monday. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock.
The analysts wrote, “Following its 1Q conference call, we provide the following three key takeaways (as well as pre-call bullets in the body of this note). First, April orders have improved “significantly”, following strong acceleration in YOY growth during 1Q, albeit below March’s rate; additionally, modest price increases have been achieved in two-thirds of MTH’s communities. Second, gross margins are expected to improve modestly over the next several quarters, driven by pricing and cost improvements. Lastly, on a regional basis, Phoenix and Northern CA have been very strong, while TX has been “spotty”.”
Shares of Meritage Homes traded down 1.79% during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $28.48. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $13.68 and a one year high of $29.54. The company’s market cap is $929.4 million.
The company last announced its quarterly results on Thursday, April 26th. It reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the previous quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of ($0.06) EPS by $0.09. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post $0.17 earnings per share next quarter.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MTH. Analysts at Barclays Capital (NYSE: BCS) cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Friday, March 9th. Finally, analysts at ISI Group initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note to investors on Wednesday, February 22nd. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
Meritage Homes Corporation (Meritage Homes) is engaged in homebuilding and related activities. Meritage Homes is a designer and builder of single-family attached and detached homes.
