PulteGroup, Inc.'s (NYSE:PHM) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.15 per share on 4th of October. This means the annual payment will be 1.4% of the current stock price, which is lower than the industry average.

View our latest analysis for PulteGroup

PulteGroup's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

It would be nice for the yield to be higher, but we should also check if higher levels of dividend payment would be sustainable. However, prior to this announcement, PulteGroup's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 19.3% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 5.7%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

PulteGroup Is Still Building Its Track Record

PulteGroup's dividend has been pretty stable for a little while now, but we will continue to be cautious until it has been demonstrated for a few more years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.20 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of $0.60. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 13% a year over that time. PulteGroup has been growing its dividend quite rapidly, which is exciting. However, the short payment history makes us question whether this performance will persist across a full market cycle.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. PulteGroup has impressed us by growing EPS at 40% per year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.

PulteGroup Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for PulteGroup that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Is PulteGroup not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.