PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) to Issue $0.22 Quarterly Dividend

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 0.79%.

PulteGroup has raised its dividend by an average of 12.9% per year over the last three years. PulteGroup has a payout ratio of 6.0% 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 Price Performance

Shares of PHM traded up $0.95 on Wednesday, hitting $111.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,402,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,311,688. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 7.57, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $100.24 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.25.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Company Profile

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.