Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. by 2,586.8% in the first quarter, owning approximately 1,166,902 shares worth $119,958,000 as of the latest reporting period.
• The company reported earnings of $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates of $2.92, although its revenue of $4.40 billion was down 4.3% year-over-year.
• PulteGroup recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.76% and a payout ratio of 6.21%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 2,586.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,166,902 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 1,123,471 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.58% of PulteGroup worth $119,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth $427,562,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 219.2% in the 1st quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,039,107 shares of the construction company's stock worth $106,820,000 after buying an additional 713,534 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,300,034,000 after buying an additional 683,592 shares during the period. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 136.8% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 988,963 shares of the construction company's stock worth $107,698,000 after buying an additional 571,251 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth $47,133,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.15.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM traded up $0.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $116.85. The company had a trading volume of 821,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,143. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.02. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.58%.

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.