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

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share by the construction company on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%.

PulteGroup has increased its dividend by an average of 12.9% annually over the last three years. PulteGroup has a payout ratio of 6.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $111.33 on Thursday. PulteGroup has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a P/E 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.25.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.