First Affirmative Financial Network Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,782 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $381,960,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $310,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,892,229 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $195,316,000 after buying an additional 523,623 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 31.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,282,324 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $94,956,000 after buying an additional 304,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,118,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on PHM shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.07.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.8 %

PHM opened at $111.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.72 and a 200 day moving average of $109.16. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.59. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.80 and a 12 month high of $122.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.51. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

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.