Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the construction company will earn $7.11 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.10. 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’ Q4 2025 earnings at $1.75 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.89 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.15 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.52 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.53 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.15 EPS.

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on MTH. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.14.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.2%

MTH opened at $72.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $103.76.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be 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 is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

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.