Citizens Jmp Decreases Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Research analysts at Citizens Jmp dropped their Q4 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued on Friday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp analyst J. Mccanless now expects that the construction company will earn $0.70 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.62. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $4.86 per share. Citizens Jmp also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q1 2027 earnings at $0.40 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.17 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.43 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.25 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.63 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $1.37 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.40 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Evercore set a $65.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $82.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.44.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $73.40 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.90. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $56.66 and a fifty-two week high of $85.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.06). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTH. Essential Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 163.8% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 401 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 106.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 573 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 43.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 43.34%.

Key Stories Impacting Meritage Homes

Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods issued forecasts extending into 2028. Although their FY2028 estimates of $5.40 and $5.58 per share, respectively, are above the current-year consensus of $4.86, both firms also lowered earlier projections for several periods. Meritage Homes analyst estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut estimates for upcoming quarters and fiscal years. Citizens JMP reduced its FY2027 forecast from $5.50 to $4.25 per share and its Q4 2026 estimate from $1.62 to $0.70. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its FY2027 estimate from $5.95 to $4.59, while Wolfe Research cut its FY2027 forecast from $5.86 to $4.48. Analyst estimate reductions
• Negative Sentiment: Melius Research made especially steep reductions: its FY2027 EPS forecast fell from $4.69 to $2.94, and its FY2028 forecast from $5.91 to $3.71. The firm maintains a Sell rating and a $59 price target, adding to the bearish signal. Melius Research forecast cuts and rating

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a residential construction company that designs and builds single-family homes in the United States. The company primarily serves entry-level and first-time homebuyers, offering homes in a range of floor plans and communities designed around affordability, energy efficiency and modern features.

Meritage Homes sells homes through its own communities and provides related services, including land acquisition and development, home design, construction, sales and customer support.