Zacks Research Forecasts Reduced Earnings for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2027 earnings estimates for Meritage Homes in a report released on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings of $1.83 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.16. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ FY2027 earnings at $7.12 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $8.26 EPS.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.72 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MTH. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 16th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.63.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of MTH opened at $80.71 on Friday. Meritage Homes has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.16.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 11.4% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 27.22%.

Meritage Homes News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut multiple FY2026–FY2028 and quarterly EPS forecasts for Meritage, lowering its full‑year outlook (FY2026 now $6.19 from $6.65) and keeping a “Strong Sell” rating — this raises downside risk to sentiment and could pressure valuation multiple if others follow. Zacks cuts MTH estimates (Feb 11, 2026)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered near‑term quarterly estimates across 2026–2027 (examples: Q1 2026 from $1.29 to $1.15; Q2 2026 to $1.77; Q3 2026 to $1.60; Q1 2027 to $1.33; Q3 2027 to $1.83), signaling expectations for softer homebuilding margins or volumes. Zacks trims quarterly EPS for MTH (Feb 11, 2026)
• Negative Sentiment: Longer‑term forecasts were cut (FY2027 now $7.12 vs prior $8.11; FY2028 $8.26), suggesting Zacks models slower recovery or higher cost pressures than consensus — could lead to analyst re‑ratings if sustained. Zacks lowers FY2027–FY2028 for MTH (Feb 11, 2026)

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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.