JB Capital LLC Has $3.36 Million Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

JB Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,838 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the quarter. JB Capital LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $113.73 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $117.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Company Profile

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.