Pulte Homes CFO exercises options, sells shares

NEW YORK - The chief financial officer of homebuilder Pulte Homes Inc. exercised options for 100,000 shares that were set to expire in January, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing and the company.

In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, Roger A. Cregg reported he exercised the options Friday at $7.18 apiece. The company said in a press release the options had a 10-year life and were set to expire within its normal trading blackout period in January. The transaction was executed to avoid forfeiture of the options.

Cregg then sold $79,500 of the shares at $11.04 apiece to cover his option exercise cost. He held the remaining 20,500 shares.

Like most other homebuilders, Pulte shares have been battered in recent years as the nation's housing market collapsed. Trading as high as $48.22 in August 2005, shares dropped as low as $6.49 last month, but the sector has rallied a bit in recent weeks. Pulte shares closed Friday up 26 cents, or 2.2 percent, at $11.86.

Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction.

Pulte is based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

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