Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MTH. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock traded up $2.99 during trading on Monday, hitting $73.37. The stock had a trading volume of 727,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,542. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $68.93 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.