PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives $142.71 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.71.

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% during the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10,625.8% in the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 9,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after buying an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $109.52 on Wednesday. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $99.03 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $126.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.95.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

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.