Wedbush Comments on Meritage Homes' Q2 Earnings (NYSE:MTH)

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meritage Homes in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush analyst J. Mccanless now expects that the construction company will post earnings of $2.02 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.05. Wedbush has a "Neutral" rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes' current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Meritage Homes' Q3 2025 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.21 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.56 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.06 earnings per share.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.69.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $1.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $68.02. 53,888 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 884,019. Meritage Homes has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,349,000 after purchasing an additional 78,087 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs and builds single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. It acquires and develops land; and constructs, markets, and sells homes for entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.