Wedbush Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) – Analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Meritage Homes in a note issued to investors on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush analyst J. Mccanless now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings per share of $1.75 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.00. Wedbush currently 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’ Q4 2025 earnings at $3.21 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $3.76 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.38.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $77.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.61 and a 200-day moving average of $91.97. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $73.05 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTH. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,719 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.4% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

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