Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Increases Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,984 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.07% of PulteGroup worth $21,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the second quarter valued at about $629,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in PulteGroup by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 94,588 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,409,000 after purchasing an additional 53,175 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 10,625.8% during the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 9,457 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 331,553 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,993,000 after purchasing an additional 12,164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $135.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.63. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.59 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.60 and its 200 day moving average is $126.17.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

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.