PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22, Zacks reports. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $116.83 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $118.03 and its 200 day moving average is $127.42. PulteGroup has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.71.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names.