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. Investors 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 yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th.

PulteGroup has raised its dividend by an average of 12.9% annually over the last three years. PulteGroup has a dividend payout ratio of 6.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect PulteGroup to earn $13.53 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 6.5%.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $103.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup has a 52-week low of $100.54 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.13. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PHM. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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