PulteGroup Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 9,941 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $105.33 on Friday. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $100.54 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.45.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after buying an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after buying an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after buying an additional 11,269 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after buying an additional 4,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 929.2% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 18,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PHM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

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.