PulteGroup Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 9,941 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average daily volume of 622 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.93.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $143.35 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $68.80 and a twelve month high of $145.84.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 54.7% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% in the second quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.0% during the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,092 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 3,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.