Strs Ohio Sells 10,007 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• Strs Ohio trimmed its PulteGroup stake by 2.8% in the first quarter, selling 10,007 shares and ending with 348,946 shares valued at about $41.0 million.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on PHM, with 10 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings, giving the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.71.
• PulteGroup reported mixed recent results: Q1 earnings of $1.79 per share slightly missed estimates, revenue came in at $3.41 billion, and the company also authorized a $1.5 billion share buyback while paying a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Strs Ohio reduced its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 348,946 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,007 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned about 0.18% of PulteGroup worth $41,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $414,817.20. This represents a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $133.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.07 and a 52 week high of $144.49. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $122.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.06%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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