Citizens Jmp Decreases Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Stock analysts at Citizens Jmp reduced their FY2026 earnings estimates for Meritage Homes in a research report issued on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp analyst J. Mccanless now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings of $4.82 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $4.86. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $5.02 per share. Citizens Jmp also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q4 2026 earnings at $1.62 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $1.82 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS.

MTH has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Meritage Homes from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $72.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $58.03 and a 52-week high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 163.8% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Meritage Homes

Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $5.50 from $5.28, indicating the firm still expects earnings growth beyond the current year. The firm also projects $5.00 in current-year EPS. Meritage Homes analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their Q4 2026 EPS estimates to $1.53 and $1.64, respectively, suggesting expectations for stronger results later in the year. Meritage Homes analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meritage Homes recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.42 versus the $1.30 consensus estimate. However, revenue declined 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion, below estimates, and EPS fell from $2.04 in the prior-year period. Meritage Homes quarterly results
• Negative Sentiment: Citizens JMP cut its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $1.20 from $1.39 and lowered estimates for Q1 and Q2 2027. Wolfe Research reduced its Q3 2026 forecast to $1.14 from $1.40, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its estimate to $1.16 from $1.52.
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term estimates also weakened: Wolfe Research lowered FY2027 EPS to $6.04 from $6.82, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced FY2027 EPS to $5.95 from $6.51 and FY2028 EPS to $6.98 from $7.70. These reductions outweighed the more limited positive revisions and helped explain the stock’s decline.

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.