Traders Purchase Large Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

Key Points

• Investors engaged in a significant increase in PulteGroup call options trading, acquiring 9,941 options, a surge of 1,498% from the typical volume.
• PulteGroup reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.03 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.92, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 4.3%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, reflecting a low dividend payout ratio of 6.58%.

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,498% compared to the average volume of 622 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $136.46.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of PHM traded down $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.95. 5,783,612 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,945,900. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.31. The company has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.27.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the construction company's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.0% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,760 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.4% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,697 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.0% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,062 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.7% in the second quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,260 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Company 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.