Wedbush Issues Optimistic Estimate for PulteGroup Earnings

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) – Equities research analysts at Wedbush lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of PulteGroup in a report issued on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush analyst J. Mccanless now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings per share of $13.10 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $13.03. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for PulteGroup’s current full-year earnings is $12.94 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for PulteGroup’s Q2 2025 earnings at $3.59 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.87 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.16 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $14.58 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.39 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.97 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.24 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $4.72 EPS.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis.

PHM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.14.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.2 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $110.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.88. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $99.68 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,917,000 after acquiring an additional 407,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,568,000 after acquiring an additional 397,003 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio 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.