Wedbush Issues Negative Outlook for Meritage Homes Earnings

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) – Investment analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush analyst J. Mccanless now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings per share of $2.05 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.80. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $10.52 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.56 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.56 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.70 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.60 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $105.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.38.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $77.07 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.97. Meritage Homes has a 1 year low of $73.05 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at about $387,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $495,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,320 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,451,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 16.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,134 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 11.47%.

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.