State Street Corp Acquires 288,054 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• State Street increased its PulteGroup stake by 3.2% in the second quarter, purchasing 288,054 shares and bringing its total holdings to 9.17 million shares, worth approximately $1.26 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 89.9% of PHM.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: PulteGroup has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $140.93, compared with the stock’s reported price of $122.31.
• PulteGroup exceeded quarterly expectations with earnings of $2.48 per share versus the $2.36 consensus and revenue of $3.98 billion, though revenue declined 9.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, implying a 0.9% yield.

State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,174,111 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 288,054 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 4.89% of PulteGroup worth $1,261,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,555,304 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,589,495,000 after purchasing an additional 655,033 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,314,501 shares of the construction company's stock worth $507,428,000 after buying an additional 313,581 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $466,653,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,146,857 shares of the construction company's stock worth $370,008,000 after buying an additional 26,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,963,175 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $230,889,000 after buying an additional 80,352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PHM. Weiss Ratings raised PulteGroup from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of PulteGroup to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.93.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $122.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.47. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.49 and a 52-week high of $144.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.19.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.62%.

PulteGroup Company Profile

PulteGroup, Inc is a U.S. homebuilding company that designs, constructs and sells homes for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up and active-adult customers. Its residential offerings include single-family homes, townhomes and communities in a variety of price ranges and styles.

The company operates through several well-known brands, including Pulte, Centex, Del Webb, DiVosta and American West Homes. Its communities are located across numerous metropolitan areas and regions in the United States, with operations spanning markets in the South, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest and West.

PulteGroup also provides mortgage lending and related title services to support home purchases through its financial-services operations.

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