PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on PHM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays set a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $154.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research began coverage on PulteGroup in a report on Monday, December 1st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $136.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.25.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $119.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $121.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.33. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $142.11.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 14.93%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.35 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 138.3% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 17,357 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 10,074 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,972,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 88.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,307 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in PulteGroup by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,061,377 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $140,240,000 after purchasing an additional 67,770 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.