Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.25.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $71.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $84.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 54.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

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.