Meritage Homes Corp. Announces Drop In Q3 Bottom Line, but beats estimates

(RTTNews) - Meritage Homes Corp. (MTH) reported a profit for third quarter that decreased from the same period last year but beat the Street estimates.

The company's earnings totaled $221.8 million, or $5.98 per share. This compares with $262.5 million, or $7.10 per share, in last year's third quarter.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $5.14 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Meritage Homes Corp. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q3): $221.8 Mln. vs. $262.5 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q3): $5.98 vs. $7.10 last year. -Analyst Estimates: $5.14