PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Reaches New 1-Year High at $117.75

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $117.75 and last traded at $117.59, with a volume of 285181 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PHM. Raymond James lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.87.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 55,196 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter worth $221,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 70,856 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,969,000 after buying an additional 14,918 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.