Oppenheimer Cuts PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $150.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price decreased by Oppenheimer from $165.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

PHM has been the topic of several other reports. BTIG Research upped 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush raised shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $113.73 on Friday. The company 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 has a 12 month low of $100.24 and a 12 month 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.42.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

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

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1,059.3% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 313 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 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.