Q2 EPS Estimates for Meritage Homes Lifted by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research slightly raised its Q2 2026 EPS estimate for Meritage Homes to $1.30 from $1.29, but it still keeps a Strong Sell rating on the stock.
• Meritage Homes also saw a recent earnings miss, reporting $0.86 EPS on revenue of $1.12 billion versus expectations for $0.98 EPS and $1.55 billion in revenue.
• The shares were up 3.7% in Tuesday trading, even as analysts’ overall view remains cautious, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for Meritage Homes in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the construction company will earn $1.30 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.29. Zacks Research currently has a "Strong Sell" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes' current full-year earnings is $5.00 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes' Q3 2026 earnings at $1.42 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.58 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.17 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.96 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.60 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.72 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $6.10 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.18 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.34 EPS.

MTH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group set a $86.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of MTH opened at $61.37 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $64.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.43. 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 has a 1-year low of $58.03 and a 1-year high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 6.86%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,895 shares of company stock valued at $3,719,339. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,740,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,051,000 after buying an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 17,343 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $22,621,000 after purchasing an additional 161,806 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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