Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2027 earnings per share estimates for Meritage Homes in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the construction company will post earnings of $0.96 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.99. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $5.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q2 2027 earnings at $1.60 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.72 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.81 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $6.10 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.18 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.33 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group set a $86.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH opened at $61.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.10. Meritage Homes has a one year low of $58.03 and a one year high of $84.74.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total transaction of $2,510,401.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 48,895 shares of company stock worth $3,719,339 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

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

More Meritage Homes News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes’ Q1 2027 EPS estimate to $0.96 from $0.99 and kept a Strong Sell rating, signaling weaker near-term sentiment for the homebuilder.
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also lowered estimates for Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027, FY2027, and FY2028, suggesting analysts see softer earnings momentum ahead for MTH.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks published a bearish “Bear of the Day” note, saying Meritage’s downward EPS revisions since its April 22 earnings report were enough to earn a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling added to the cautious tone, with CAO Alison Sasser selling 1,273 shares in a transaction disclosed Tuesday, May 12.

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.