Graham Capital Management L.P. Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,796 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of PHM stock traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,402,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,998,465. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $100.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.25. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.21%.

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.