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

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 9,941 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average daily volume of 622 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $29,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 54.7% during 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. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.71.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $110.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.21. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $99.03 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The business 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%. PulteGroup’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.49%.

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.