PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $138.00 to $160.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. PulteGroup traded as high as $145.00 and last traded at $145.00, with a volume of 8064 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $140.99.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James raised their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.0% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,092 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.9% in the second quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 3,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.