Wedbush Brokers Lower Earnings Estimates for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) – Stock analysts at Wedbush cut their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research note issued to investors on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush analyst J. Mccanless now anticipates that the construction company will earn $1.75 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.00. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $103.00 target price 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.

MTH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated 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. Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.9 %

Meritage Homes stock opened at $76.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes has a 12-month low of $73.05 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.25 and its 200 day moving average is $91.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (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

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 15.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 yield of 1.96%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio 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.