PulteGroup second quarter profit climbs 15 percent

BLOOMFIELD HILLS (AP) - PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) last Thursday reported profit that rose by 15 percent in its second quarter, and fell short of analysts' expectations. The Bloomfield Hills-based company said net income increased to $41.9 million, or 11 cents per share, from $36.4 million, or 9 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 25 cents per share. The average per-share estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for profit of 26 cents. The homebuilder posted revenue of $1.29 billion compared with $1.28 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, and missed Wall Street estimates. Analysts expected $1.34 billion, according to Zacks. PulteGroup shares have dropped 53 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $19.84 since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 7.5 percent. However, the stock has risen $1.39, or 7.5 percent, in the last 12 months. -------- This story was generated automatically by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Full PHM report: http://www.zacks.com/ap/PHM Published: Mon, Jul 28, 2014