MidFirst Bank Buys Shares of 69,470 PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

MidFirst Bank bought a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 69,470 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,146,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $466,653,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in PulteGroup by 126.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,284,197 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $502,366,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392,580 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 120.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,703,049 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $225,024,000 after acquiring an additional 930,287 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5,485.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 930,622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,125,000 after acquiring an additional 913,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,555,304 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,589,495,000 after purchasing an additional 655,033 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total transaction of $391,264.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,817.20. This represents a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,372,000. This trade represents a 20.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $127.03 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.45 and a 52-week high of $144.49. The firm has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.26 dividend. 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, June 16th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 10.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.71.

PulteGroup Profile

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.