PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their price target on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $110.73.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.90 and its 200-day moving average is $99.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $64.41 and a 12 month high of $121.07. The firm has a market cap of $23.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $381,960,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,466 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 63.6% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,748,119 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $129,354,000 after acquiring an additional 679,582 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $47,762,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in PulteGroup by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,892,229 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $195,316,000 after purchasing an additional 523,623 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.