PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.22 EPS

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (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 Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $113.73 on Friday. PulteGroup has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $117.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67.

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 paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.49%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PHM shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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.