PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Upgraded by Zelman & Associates to “Outperform”

Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on PHM. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $110.73.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $23.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.05. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $121.07.

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

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 335.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 379 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3,463.6% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 392 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. 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.