PulteGroup Hikes Buyback Plan and Restarts Dividend Payout

Homebuilder PulteGroupannounced yesterday that it has reinitiated its quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. It suspended the payout in November 2008 due to the downturn in the housing market. The board of directors said the quarterly dividend is payable on Aug. 12 to the holders of record at the close of business on Aug. 5.

The board also announced it was increasing its share repurchase authorization by $250 million, giving the homebuilder a total of $352 million in buyback authorization. It has not made any repurchases under the program since 2006.

Although the initiation of the dividend again was done without fanfare, PulteGroup Executive VP and CFO Bob O'Shaughnessy said, "These announcements illustrate our confidence in the long-term prospects of PulteGroup, and are consistent with our focus on enhancing shareholder value and our desire to return capital to our shareholders."

The regular dividend payment equates to a $0.20-per-share annual dividend, yielding 1.2% based on the closing price today of PulteGroup's stock.

PHM Dividend data by YCharts

The article PulteGroup Hikes Buyback Plan and Restarts Dividend Payout originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.