PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10, Zacks reports. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.10 EPS.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.04. The company had a trading volume of 48,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,989,615. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $101.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.25. PulteGroup has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.21%.

Insider Activity

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.69.

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.