Challenger Wealth Management Invests $711,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,533 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the construction company's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in PulteGroup by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 110,044 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,984,000 after acquiring an additional 35,730 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 7,009 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 9,987 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 3,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JT Stratford LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 12,894 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock traded down $3.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,815,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,012,925. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.63, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $100.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.62.

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

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.69.

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.