LSV Asset Management Lowers Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management trimmed its PulteGroup stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 107,235 shares and ending with 2.72 million shares valued at about $318.8 million.
• PulteGroup reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.79 slightly below estimates and revenue of $3.41 billion slightly above forecasts, while sales fell 12.4% from a year earlier.
• The company approved a $1.5 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, yielding about 0.9% annually.

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,718,929 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 107,235 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 1.39% of PulteGroup worth $318,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.8% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the construction company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,350 shares of the construction company's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the construction company's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the construction company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 10,520 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $116.48 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $119.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.07. The company has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.20 and a 12-month high of $144.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, EVP Kevin A. Henry sold 5,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.03, for a total value of $729,548.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,069,333.19. This represents a 26.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,817.20. The trade was a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.71.

PulteGroup Company Profile

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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