PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered PulteGroup’s price target to $120 from $128 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying about 6.07% downside from the reported $127.75 share price.
• PulteGroup’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with EPS of $2.53 versus a $2.63 consensus and revenue of $3.97 billion versus $4.15 billion; revenue declined 9.8% year over year.
• Despite mixed analyst views, the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $136.76, while institutional investors own approximately 89.9% of shares.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $128.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the construction company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential downside of 6.07% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, September 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $145.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a "hold" rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.76.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM traded down $3.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.75. 536,064 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,824,349. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.17. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $107.15 and a 12 month high of $144.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 11.24%. The company's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 11.3% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the construction company's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 15,452 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,793,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 8.4% during the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,843 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,010,000 after buying an additional 2,623 shares in the last quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 16.0% during the third quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the construction company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $181,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Company Profile

PulteGroup, Inc is a major U.S. homebuilding company that designs, builds and sells homes for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up and active-adult customers. Its operations include land acquisition and development, home construction, sales and marketing, and customer service.

The company markets homes under several well-known brands, including Pulte, Centex, Del Webb, DiVosta and American West. Through these brands, PulteGroup offers a variety of single-family home designs and communities, with products tailored to different price points, lifestyles and stages of homeownership.

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