Stock Traders Buy High Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 9,941 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,498% compared to the average daily volume of 622 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PHM. Citigroup dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.7 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $104.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.13, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.77.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% in the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 929.2% in the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.