Zacks Research Expects Weaker Earnings for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 7th. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings of $2.03 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.46. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.30 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.18 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.61 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.42 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.66 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.78 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.98 EPS.

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.7%

Meritage Homes stock opened at $71.33 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.70 and its 200 day moving average is $78.70. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $567,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Meritage Homes by 93.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $207,456,000 after buying an additional 1,417,024 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 94.1% during the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $101,668,000 after buying an additional 695,355 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $101,695,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,910,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.