PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives $140.86 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.86.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $103.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $100.54 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 7.3% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at about $251,000. AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at about $402,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.