Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,400 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,600 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% during the third 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 purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,059.3% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 313 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PHM. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.14.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $117.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

PulteGroup 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.