Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) and the best and worst performers in the home builders industry.

Traditionally, homebuilders have built competitive advantages with economies of scale that lead to advantaged purchasing and brand recognition among consumers. Aesthetic trends have always been important in the space, but more recently, energy efficiency and conservation are driving innovation. However, these companies are still at the whim of the macro, specifically interest rates that heavily impact new and existing home sales. In fact, homebuilders are one of the most cyclical subsectors within industrials.

The 13 home builders stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.6%.

While some home builders stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 1.5% since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q4: Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH)

Originally founded in 1985 in Arizona as Monterey Homes, Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) is a homebuilder specializing in designing and constructing energy-efficient and single-family homes in the US.

Meritage Homes reported revenues of $1.44 billion, down 11.5% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 3.8%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ revenue and adjusted operating income estimates.

Meritage Homes delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 4.2% since reporting and currently trades at $72.08.

Read our full report on Meritage Homes here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Taylor Morrison Home (NYSE:TMHC)

Named “America’s Most Trusted Home Builder” in 2019, Taylor Morrison Home (NYSE:TMHC) builds single family homes and communities across the United States.

Taylor Morrison Home reported revenues of $2.1 billion, down 10.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.2%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $63.60.

Is now the time to buy Taylor Morrison Home? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.