PulteGroup (PHM) to Release Earnings on Tuesday

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) is expected to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, April 22nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.48 per share and revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter. Parties that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its 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 return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, analysts expect PulteGroup to post $12 EPS for the current fiscal year and $14 EPS for the next fiscal year.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM opened at $94.87 on Monday. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.03. The firm has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a PE ratio of 6.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PHM. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with 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 a consensus price target of $138.21.

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.