Clarius Group LLC Buys 531 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,841 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in PulteGroup by 43.8% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 571 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in PulteGroup by 46.2% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 760 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 42.1% during the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 770 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PHM. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $132.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.31.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $137.70 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.23.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. PulteGroup had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.58%.

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.