Zacks Research Cuts Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meritage Homes in a report issued on Wednesday, May 7th. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings per share of $2.03 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.46. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.30 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.18 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.61 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.42 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.66 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.78 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.98 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MTH. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MTH opened at $68.22 on Monday. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.89.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 10,537 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 5,056 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 876.9% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 32.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 108,971 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,724,000 after purchasing an additional 26,843 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 102.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 985,239 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,834,000 after purchasing an additional 499,063 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 96.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $567,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

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.