Empowered Funds LLC Sells 5,357 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,713 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,357 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.07% of PulteGroup worth $14,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $213,092,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2,586.8% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,166,902 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $119,958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,471 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,486,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $358,395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,290 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,262,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 1,248.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 435,580 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,936,000 after buying an additional 403,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM opened at $113.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $22.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.27. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $142.11.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 14.93% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.35 EPS. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $132.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.67.

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.