Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Shares Up 9.2% – Still a Buy?

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) was up 9.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $74.32 and last traded at $74.6350. Approximately 617,658 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 703,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $104.00 price target (up previously from $101.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.63.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 10.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.55 and its 200-day moving average is $71.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.32). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 23.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single?family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high?performance features aimed at reducing long?term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.