Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Takes $19.79 Million Position in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. has acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc., purchasing 192,500 shares valued at approximately $19.79 million, making it the company's 19th largest position.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in PulteGroup in the first quarter, with notable boosts including a 1,311.3% increase by Vest Financial LLC and a 103,800.0% increase by NBC Securities Inc.
• Research firms have raised their price targets for PulteGroup stock, with Wells Fargo setting a new target of $135.00 and Wedbush maintaining an "outperform" rating and a target of $150.00.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 192,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $19,793,000. PulteGroup comprises about 0.1% of Eisler Capital Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. owned about 0.10% of PulteGroup at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 20.5% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,388 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 2,613 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 1,311.3% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 312,723 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,148,000 after acquiring an additional 290,564 shares during the period. Hudson Capital Management LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 8.6% during the first quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 41,305 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 103,800.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the construction company's stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 42.1% during the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 770 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.31.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $131.26 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.60. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.22.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. PulteGroup had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. PulteGroup's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Profile

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.

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