Wedbush Issues Negative Forecast for Meritage Homes Earnings

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) - Wedbush lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush analyst J. Mccanless now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings per share of $1.75 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.00. 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 $10.02 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Meritage Homes' Q4 2025 earnings at $3.21 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $3.76 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Raymond James lowered Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock traded down $3.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.57. The stock had a trading volume of 841,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,194. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $73.05 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $83.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.70.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $387,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth about $495,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.5% in the second 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 during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 24.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,619,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.