Barclays Cuts PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $117.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $125.00 to $117.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PHM. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 4.0 %

PHM stock opened at $113.73 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $100.24 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.42. The stock has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.22 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $334,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $68,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,382 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,052,000 after purchasing an additional 5,794 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.