PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $129.00 to $117.00. The stock had previously closed at $106.23, but opened at $103.07. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PulteGroup shares last traded at $104.32, with a volume of 272,948 shares trading hands.

PHM has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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. Barclays boosted their price target 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, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,008,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,136,318,000 after purchasing an additional 197,656 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $591,076,000 after purchasing an additional 24,350 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,960,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,115,877 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $230,731,000 after purchasing an additional 61,953 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.5 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.51. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

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.