PulteGroup Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

PulteGroup (NYS: PHM) reported earnings today. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), PulteGroup beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share grew.

Gross margins shrank, operating margins shrank, net margins improved.

Revenue details
PulteGroup logged revenue of $1.26 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $1.13 billion. Sales were 3.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.19 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.11. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.07 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were $0.04 for Q4 versus -$0.44 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 10.1%, 260 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -0.9%, 220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.1%, 1,510 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $824.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.03.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.22 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.18.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 588 members rating the stock outperform, and 697 members rating it underperform. Among CAPS All-Stars (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 153 give PulteGroup a green thumbs-up, and 268 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on PulteGroup is hold, with an average price target of $6.60.

At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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