Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $104.00 price objective (up previously from $101.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.38.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $78.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.18 and a 200-day moving average of $71.64.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 8.96%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 265.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 54.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 618 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.