PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.22 EPS

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

PulteGroup Stock Up 6.4 %

Shares of PHM stock traded up $7.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $120.20. 1,689,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,085,241. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.48. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Wedbush raised shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

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.