PulteGroup, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the construction company on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th.

PulteGroup has raised its dividend payment by an average of 12.9% annually over the last three years. PulteGroup has a dividend payout ratio of 6.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect PulteGroup to earn $15.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.8%.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $109.89 on Friday. PulteGroup has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PHM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.