Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Price Target to $76.00

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $78.00 to $76.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price indicates a potential upside of 0.81% from the company’s previous close. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q3 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.66 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.63.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $75.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Meritage Homes has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,051,000 after buying an additional 391,297 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 17,343 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,621,000 after acquiring an additional 161,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Meritage Homes

Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings included an EPS beat (reported $1.67 vs. consensus ~$1.55), which supports near‑term profitability expectations and likely underpins the stock strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Citizens Jmp raised several near‑term quarterly EPS estimates (small raises to Q2/Q3/Q4 2026 and Q4 2027) and kept a Market Outperform rating with a $90 price target — a constructive analyst view that supports upside potential. MarketBeat Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: MSN summarized five revealing analyst questions from Meritage’s Q4 earnings call — useful color on management’s commentary about backlog, pricing, incentives and margins but informational rather than action‑changing by itself. 5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Meritage Homes’s Q4 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut near‑term EPS estimates (Q3/Q4 2026) and lowered its price target to $76 with a Market Perform rating — a more cautious stance that reduces analyst‑driven upside and may temper momentum. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Citizens Jmp also trimmed its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings forecasts (notable cuts from prior forecasts), reflecting expectations for softer full‑year results despite some quarter‑by‑quarter raises — this downtick in multi‑year guidance is a headwind for valuation. MarketBeat Analyst Notes

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.