Meritage Homes (MTH) closed at $157.52 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.34% move from the prior day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.57%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.83%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.39%.

The homebuilder's stock has climbed by 3.31% in the past month, falling short of the Construction sector's gain of 6.36% and outpacing the S&P 500's gain of 2.97%.

The upcoming earnings release of Meritage Homes will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $3.55, marking a 0.28% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $1.28 billion, reflecting a 0.2% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $17.72 per share and a revenue of $6.09 billion, demonstrating changes of -11.09% and -0.31%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Meritage Homes should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Currently, Meritage Homes is carrying a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

From a valuation perspective, Meritage Homes is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.77. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.36.

The Building Products - Home Builders industry is part of the Construction sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 61, finds itself in the top 25% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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