Analysts Set Expectations for Meritage Homes Q1 Earnings

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meritage Homes in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 7th. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings of $2.05 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.31. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share.

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 research note on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.4 %

Meritage Homes stock opened at $68.22 on Friday. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 14.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,279,000 after buying an additional 32,810 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 244,776 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,092 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,763 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 95.0% during the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 6,356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.