Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• Foster & Motley acquired 62,474 PulteGroup shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $8.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.9% of PHM.
• PulteGroup exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.48 EPS versus the $2.36 consensus and $3.98 billion in revenue, though revenue declined 9.6% year over year.
• The company authorized a $1.5 billion stock buyback, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $143.14 compared with the reported share price of $126.17.

Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 62,474 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $8,572,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in PulteGroup by 20.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,517 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 197.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,060 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,395,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $126.17 on Wednesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $108.49 and a one year high of $144.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $128.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.19.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 11.62%.The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $894,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,372,000. This represents a 20.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PHM. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $162.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.14.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc NYSE: PHM is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.

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