Citizens Jmp Decreases Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Key Points

• Citizens JMP sharply reduced its forecasts, cutting Meritage Homes’ Q4 2026 EPS estimate from $1.62 to $0.70 and its FY2027 estimate from $5.50 to $4.25. Other firms also lowered estimates, though Citizens JMP and KBW project FY2028 EPS above the current-year consensus.
• Meritage Homes reported quarterly EPS of $1.11, below the $1.17 consensus, while revenue of $1.18 billion missed the $1.29 billion estimate and fell 17.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans to Hold: four analysts rate the stock Buy, eight Hold and two Sell, with a consensus price target of $72.44.

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Research analysts at Citizens Jmp decreased their Q4 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research note issued on Friday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp analyst J. Mccanless now expects that the construction company will post earnings of $0.70 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.62. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes' current full-year earnings is $4.86 per share. Citizens Jmp also issued estimates for Meritage Homes' Q1 2027 earnings at $0.40 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.17 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.43 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.25 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.63 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $1.37 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.40 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Evercore set a $65.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.44.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $73.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $56.66 and a twelve month high of $85.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.06). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth approximately $112,498,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,873,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.1% in the first quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 471,614 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,165,000 after purchasing an additional 65,540 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 267.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 356,121 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,861,000 after purchasing an additional 259,291 shares during the period. Finally, Lodge Hill Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 17.5% in the first quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 235,000 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,532,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.34%.

Meritage Homes News Summary

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

• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods issued forecasts extending into 2028. Although their FY2028 estimates of $5.40 and $5.58 per share, respectively, are above the current-year consensus of $4.86, both firms also lowered earlier projections for several periods. Meritage Homes analyst estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut estimates for upcoming quarters and fiscal years. Citizens JMP reduced its FY2027 forecast from $5.50 to $4.25 per share and its Q4 2026 estimate from $1.62 to $0.70. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its FY2027 estimate from $5.95 to $4.59, while Wolfe Research cut its FY2027 forecast from $5.86 to $4.48. Analyst estimate reductions
• Negative Sentiment: Melius Research made especially steep reductions: its FY2027 EPS forecast fell from $4.69 to $2.94, and its FY2028 forecast from $5.91 to $3.71. The firm maintains a Sell rating and a $59 price target, adding to the bearish signal. Melius Research forecast cuts and rating

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.

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