Crestline Management LP Purchases New Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 73,469 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $8,001,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on PHM shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.69.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup 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 transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.57. 1,157,169 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,998,551. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $101.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.09. The company has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 presently 6.21%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company's management 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.