PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Increased to $131.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price objective upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $126.00 to $131.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group downgraded PulteGroup from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $110.73.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.05. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $64.41 and a twelve month high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHM. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter worth $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 186.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.