PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) to Buyback $1.50 billion in Shares

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHMGet Free Report) announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $118.47 on Friday. PulteGroup has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $118.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.48.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHMGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PHM. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research upped their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on PulteGroup

PulteGroup Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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