Zacks Research Downgrades Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) to Strong Sell

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $61.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.43. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $58.03 and a 52-week high of $84.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $834,352.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 124,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,540,772.35. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,895 shares of company stock valued at $3,719,339. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at $822,000. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the first quarter worth about $209,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 67.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 21,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 8,509 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 119,408 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,384,000 after purchasing an additional 7,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. 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.