Citizens Jmp Decreases Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Key Points

• Citizens JMP lowered Meritage Homes’ Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $1.20 from $1.39, while projecting FY2027 EPS of $5.50. The company’s current full-year consensus EPS estimate is $5.00.
• Meritage Homes beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.42 EPS versus the $1.30 consensus, but revenue fell 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion, below analyst expectations.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and a $79.25 price target; shares recently traded near $74.95. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.48, yielding approximately 2.6% annually.

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Citizens Jmp cut their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a report released on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp analyst J. Mccanless now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings of $1.20 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.39. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes' current full-year earnings is $5.00 per share. Citizens Jmp also issued estimates for Meritage Homes' Q1 2027 earnings at $0.78 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.47 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.50 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $93.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MTH opened at $74.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $58.03 and a 12 month high of $85.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.40.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 163.8% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Trending Headlines about Meritage Homes

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $5.50 from $5.28, indicating some confidence in Meritage Homes’ longer-term earnings potential. Meritage Homes analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Wolfe Research and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their Q4 2026 EPS estimates to $1.53 and $1.64, respectively, suggesting expectations for stronger results late in the year. Meritage Homes analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also assessing management’s Q2 earnings-call commentary and analysts’ questions, which may provide additional insight into demand trends, pricing, incentives and construction costs. The 5 Most Interesting Analyst Questions From Meritage Homes’s Q2 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Citizens JMP cut its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $1.20 from $1.39 and lowered estimates for Q1 and Q2 2027 to $0.78 and $1.44, respectively. Its Q3 2027 estimate was also reduced to $1.47 from $1.52. Meritage Homes analyst estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research lowered Q3 2026 EPS to $1.14 from $1.40 and reduced FY2027 EPS to $6.04 from $6.82. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods made similar cuts, lowering Q3 2026 EPS to $1.16 from $1.52, FY2027 EPS to $5.95 from $6.51 and FY2028 EPS to $6.98 from $7.70. Meritage Homes analyst estimates

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.

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