PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Benchmark upgraded shares of PulteGroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of PulteGroup to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.24.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $121.77 on Monday. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $107.15 and a fifty-two week high of $144.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.28.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 9.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 151,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,756,000 after acquiring an additional 13,312 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,423,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,820,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,937,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,174,111 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,261,092,000 after purchasing an additional 288,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc is a major U.S. homebuilding company that designs, builds and sells homes for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up and active-adult customers. Its operations include land acquisition and development, home construction, sales and marketing, and customer service.

The company markets homes under several well-known brands, including Pulte, Centex, Del Webb, DiVosta and American West. Through these brands, PulteGroup offers a variety of single-family home designs and communities, with products tailored to different price points, lifestyles and stages of homeownership.