Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings of $1.41 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.61. 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 $2.07 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $2.52 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS.

MTH has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.13.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $72.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current 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 $106.99.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 15.47%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $567,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 93.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $207,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,024 shares during the last quarter. Long Pond Capital LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the first quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,811,000 after acquiring an additional 963,438 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 278.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,969,000 after acquiring an additional 788,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently 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.