Short Interest in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Decreases By 18.4%

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,250,000 shares, a decrease of 18.4% from the October 15th total of 6,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PHM. Raymond James increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.4 %

PHM traded down $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $128.89. 1,509,994 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,839,799. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. PulteGroup has a 12-month low of $86.59 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.29 and a 200 day moving average of $125.27.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 44.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 54.7% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors 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.