Investors Purchase Large Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 9,941 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $154.00 to $148.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.14.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $116.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.75 and its 200 day moving average is $127.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. PulteGroup’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 1,059.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 313 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.