PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.47.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PHM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $105.96 on Friday. PulteGroup has a one year low of $61.74 and a one year high of $121.07. The stock has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $110.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,594 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 43,391 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.