Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,498% compared to the average volume of 622 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total transaction of $3,748,504.97. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,729,065.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 160,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,729,065.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,995,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 460.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 10,933 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 8,983 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at $374,000. New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth about $297,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.14.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $140.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. PulteGroup has a one year low of $68.80 and a one year high of $144.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

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.