Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 47,485 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 159,244 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,485 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $17,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,466 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,734 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 5,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PHM. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.7%

PHM opened at $102.78 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.21%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.