PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.29.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $112.90 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.