Meritage Homes Q1 EPS Lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst J. Rahmani now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings of $1.01 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.27. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has a “Market Perform” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q2 2026 earnings at $1.49 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.73 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.86 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.Meritage Homes’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MTH. Bank of America reaffirmed 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 downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $95.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.63.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.1%

Meritage Homes stock opened at $75.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.91.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 63,008 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,472,000 after buying an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,477,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 14.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,424 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,989,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 348.4% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,702 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 10,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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 given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 27.22%.

Trending Headlines about Meritage Homes

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens Jmp raised several near-term quarterly estimates and reiterated a bullish stance — the firm boosted Q4 2026 and Q4 2027 quarter estimates and nudged some 2026 quarter numbers higher, and it maintains a “Market Outperform” rating with a $90 price target, supporting upside expectations for MTH.
• Positive Sentiment: Meritage’s most recent quarter beat EPS expectations (reported $1.67 vs. consensus ~$1.55) — an earnings beat that helps justify the stock’s strength despite revenue weakness year-over-year and a revenue miss versus expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and investor questions from the Q4 earnings call are getting coverage and may influence near-term guidance clarity and sentiment; read the analyst Q&A summary for context. 5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Meritage Homes’s Q4 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut multiple near-term and FY EPS estimates (Q1–Q4 2026, FY2026, FY2027) and trimmed its price target to $76 while keeping a “Market Perform” rating — a broad set of downward revisions that signals expectations for weaker margins/volume or a slower recovery and puts pressure on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target to $76.00

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.