Zacks Research Expects Lower Earnings for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings per share of $1.29 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.41. Zacks Research has a “Hold” 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’ Q2 2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $1.50 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS.

MTH has been the subject of several other reports. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group set a $101.00 price objective on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.6%

MTH stock opened at $68.77 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.16 and a 200 day moving average of $70.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $98.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 105.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 296,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,998,000 after buying an additional 151,834 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 98.4% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,550 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,892 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.5% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,142 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 164.4% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.