PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives $106.47 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.73.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PHM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $111.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.13. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup has a 12-month low of $64.41 and a 12-month high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for 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 business’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 11.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,030,000 after purchasing an additional 28,833 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 24.9% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 65.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,660,000 after acquiring an additional 88,638 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,111,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.