PulteGroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 9,941 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 6.4 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $97.69 on Friday. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $96.50 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $106.41 and its 200-day moving average is $120.48.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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.