Zacks Research Forecasts Reduced Earnings for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2025 earnings estimates for Meritage Homes in a research report issued on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings per share of $6.64 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $6.69. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q4 2025 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.80 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.65 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.49 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.16 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.11 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MTH. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $101.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.57.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $71.21 on Monday. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $85.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.15.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.32). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 93.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $207,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,024 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth $75,148,000. Long Pond Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the 1st quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,811,000 after acquiring an additional 963,438 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 278.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,802 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,969,000 after acquiring an additional 788,323 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.7% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,352,648 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,876,000 after acquiring an additional 661,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.