Meritage Homes Q3 EPS Forecast Decreased by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes’ Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $1.25 from $1.41 and maintained a “Hold” rating. It projects FY2026 EPS of $5.01, below the current full-year consensus estimate of $5.06.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans neutral, with five Buy ratings and seven Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $79.25. Recent targets range from $58 at JPMorgan to $88 at UBS.
• Meritage Homes’ latest quarter exceeded EPS expectations ($1.42 versus $1.30) but revenue declined 14.1% year over year to $1.41 billion. The company pays a $0.48 quarterly dividend, yielding about 2.6% annually.

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Meritage Homes in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the construction company will post earnings of $1.25 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.41. Zacks Research currently has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes' current full-year earnings is $5.06 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes' Q4 2026 earnings at $1.48 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.01 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $1.03 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $72.74 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.31. Meritage Homes has a 52 week low of $58.03 and a 52 week high of $85.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,053,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth approximately $68,873,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $95,299,000 after acquiring an additional 527,265 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $75,051,000 after acquiring an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Finally, Sophron Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at $17,613,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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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