WBI Investments LLC Invests $2.45 Million in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC has invested approximately $2.45 million in PulteGroup, purchasing 23,806 shares during the first quarter.
• Following this, several large investors such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ameriprise Financial Inc. have increased their stakes in PulteGroup significantly.
• PulteGroup reported earnings per share of $3.03 for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue decrease of 4.3%.

WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,806 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,447,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,486,330 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $358,395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,290 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,570,022 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $264,216,000 after acquiring an additional 271,917 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,092,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,033,776 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $221,478,000 after acquiring an additional 169,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in PulteGroup by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,579,792 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $162,403,000 after acquiring an additional 276,077 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE PHM opened at $135.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47. The company's 50 day moving average price is $122.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.27.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. PulteGroup had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. PulteGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PHM. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.46.

About PulteGroup

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.

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