Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from “sell” to “hold”, but the stock still carries a cautious overall analyst view with a consensus rating of Hold and a target price of $79.89.
• Meritage Homes shares were down 4.3% to $59.21, near the lower end of their 52-week range, after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings with EPS of $0.86 and revenue of $1.12 billion, both missing estimates.
• Sentiment remains pressured by negative analyst revisions and insider selling, including Zacks cutting estimates and maintaining a Strong Sell rating, while insiders sold shares in recent months.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $86.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of MTH stock opened at $59.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.43. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $84.74. The company's fifty day moving average price is $64.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $834,352.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 124,961 shares in the company, valued at $9,540,772.35. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total transaction of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,895 shares of company stock valued at $3,719,339. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth about $916,000. Callodine Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth about $8,348,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 485.4% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 28,324 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,752,000 after buying an additional 23,486 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 49,591 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,067,000 after buying an additional 10,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth about $822,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut earnings estimates across multiple future periods for Meritage Homes, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027, FY2027, and FY2028, while keeping a Strong Sell rating. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also published a bearish “Bear of the Day” note, saying the company’s post-earnings estimate cuts since its April 22 report justify a Zacks Rank #5 outlook. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling added to the cautious tone, as CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares in a disclosed SEC filing, reducing her position by 14.29%.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s most recent earnings report was already weak, with EPS of $0.86 missing estimates and revenue of $1.12 billion coming in well below expectations, which continues to weigh on investor sentiment.

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.

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