Q1 EPS Estimates for Meritage Homes Lowered by BTIG Research

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Investment analysts at BTIG Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Meritage Homes in a research note issued on Tuesday, February 4th. BTIG Research analyst C. Reichardt now expects that the construction company will earn $1.73 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.79. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes' current full-year earnings is $10.02 per share.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $74.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 508,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,466. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.81 and a 200-day moving average of $91.63. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $73.05 and a 12 month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $363,714,000 after acquiring an additional 74,422 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $100,286,000 after acquiring an additional 5,732 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 26.9% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 483,159 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $99,081,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $62,429,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 75.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,206,000 after buying an additional 148,898 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.48%.

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.