Citizens Jmp Forecasts Higher Earnings for Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) – Analysts at Citizens Jmp boosted their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meritage Homes in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, February 1st. Citizens Jmp analyst J. Mccanless now anticipates that the construction company will earn $1.38 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.37. Citizens Jmp currently has a “Market Outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meritage Homes’ current full-year earnings is $9.44 per share. Citizens Jmp also issued estimates for Meritage Homes’ Q3 2026 earnings at $1.46 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.54 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.38 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.66 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.67 EPS.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $95.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four 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, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.63.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 3.5%

Meritage Homes stock opened at $72.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.91 and its 200-day moving average is $71.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.48. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.22%.

More Meritage Homes News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens Jmp raised several near?term quarterly EPS forecasts (Q2 2026 to $1.38 from $1.37; Q3 2026 to $1.46 from $1.44; Q4 2026 to $1.54 from $1.51; Q4 2027 to $1.66 from $1.60), and keeps a Market Outperform rating with a $90 target — signals that that firm sees operational resilience in upcoming quarters.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens Jmp trimmed one quarter (Q2 2027 to $1.44 from $1.48) — a small quarterly downgrade that appears offset by the other upward revisions and the firm’s continued bullish price target.
• Negative Sentiment: Citizens Jmp reduced its FY2026 EPS to $5.38 (from $5.63) and FY2027 EPS to $5.67 (from $6.03), lowering full?year earnings expectations by a material amount — a negative for longer?term growth expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Q3 and Q4 2026 EPS estimates (Q3 to $1.57 from $1.67; Q4 to $1.66 from $1.79) and lowered its price target to $76 with a Market Perform rating, which reduces near?term analyst upside. KBW price target cut report

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.