FY2026 EPS Estimate for Meritage Homes Reduced by Analyst

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered Meritage Homes’ FY2026 EPS estimate to $5.00 from $5.01 and maintains a “Strong Sell” rating; the broader analyst consensus is “Hold” with a $74.78 price target.
• Meritage Homes’ latest quarter showed mixed results: EPS of $1.42 exceeded estimates of $1.30, but revenue fell 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion and missed expectations.
• The stock opened at $58.82, near its 52-week low of $58.03, while the company continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.48, representing a 3.3% annualized yield.

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings of $5.00 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $5.01. Zacks Research has a "Strong Sell" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes' current full-year earnings is $4.97 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes' Q4 2027 earnings at $1.78 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.86 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.86 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $6.98 EPS.

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $72.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.78.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock opened at $58.82 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.38.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.0% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,223 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,772 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,764 shares of the construction company's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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 move-up buyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans, sizes and price points. Its communities typically feature energy-efficient designs and include standard features intended to improve home performance, comfort and affordability.

Meritage Homes develops communities in selected markets across the South, Southeast and West, including areas of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

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