Leuthold Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Leuthold Group LLC lowered its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,268 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,484 shares during the quarter. PulteGroup accounts for about 1.1% of Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $9,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.1% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 382,562 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,345,000 after purchasing an additional 18,444 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in PulteGroup by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 128,938 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,598,000 after purchasing an additional 5,084 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $404,339,000. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,432 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 27.4% during the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,420 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after buying an additional 8,899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:PHM opened at $127.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.20. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $142.11.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 14.93%.The business had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $132.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $154.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.67.

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.