Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Acquires 5,259 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,375 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,259 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PHM. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 2.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,746 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 11.4% during the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,595 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 60.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $103.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.72. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.54 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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.