PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Increased to $160.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $138.00 to $160.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $134.71.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $141.86 on Thursday. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $68.80 and a 1 year high of $145.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.60. The company has a market capitalization of $29.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,729,065.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total transaction of $3,748,504.97. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,729,065.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 32,649 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,396 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $497,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names.