<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report)</span>'s stock had its &#34;hold (c+)&#34; rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.</p><ul><li>Time to Load Up on Home Builders?</li></ul><p>Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a &#34;market perform&#34; rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI cut Meritage Homes from an &#34;outperform&#34; rating to an &#34;in-line&#34; rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research raised Meritage Homes from a &#34;strong sell&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wedbush cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued  a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average target price of $84.86.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Meritage Homes</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><p><b>Read Our Latest Stock Report on MTH</b></p><h2>Meritage Homes Stock Performance</h2><ul><li>Small-cap surge: Outpacing large caps on hopes for '24 rate cuts</li></ul><p>MTH traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.39. 946,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 762,184. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.50 and a 200 day moving average of $70.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $98.74. </p><p>Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis.  On average, sell-side analysts forecast that  Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Insider Activity at Meritage Homes</h2><p>In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. </p><h2>Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes</h2><p>Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of  Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at $33,000.  Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of  Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter.  Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of  Meritage Homes by 54.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter.  Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of  Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 660 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter.  Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Meritage Homes during the first quarter valued at $48,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p><h2>About Meritage Homes</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Meritage Homes</li><li>3 Natural Gas Stocks That Offer Great Dividend Yields</li><li>Tractor Supply Stock Looks Like a Buy-and-Hold Winner</li><li>How to Invest in Insurance Companies: A Guide </li><li>3 Stocks Well Below 52-Week Highs Poised for a Q4 Rebound</li><li>How to Invest in Biotech Stocks</li><li>Big Banks Are Setting the Tone as Earnings Season Kicks Off</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1USA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="330" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1USA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Meritage Homes Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Meritage Homes, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meritage Homes wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Meritage Homes currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "hold (C+)" rating for Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH). Several research firms have adjusted their price targets, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowering it from $77 to $75, and Evercore ISI from $100 to $82. The stock traded down to $71.39, with a market cap of $5.08 billion. Meritage reported $2.04 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but revenue declined 4.6% year-over-year. Insider activity includes CEO Phillippe Lord selling shares, and institutional investors hold 98.44% of the stock.</p>

Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C+) Rating for Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH)