PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $148.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $154.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on PHM. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM opened at $110.41 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $122.83 and its 200-day moving average is $126.84. The stock has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at $33,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1,059.3% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 313 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PulteGroup

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.