PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Increased to $127.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $116.00 to $127.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the construction company's stock. Citigroup's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.15% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 2nd. UBS Group cut PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.47.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock traded up $2.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.36. 1,298,894 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,807,426. The company has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $109.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.34. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $57.26 and a 1 year high of $121.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The firm's revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 55,196 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,313,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 1st quarter worth approximately $221,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,505 shares of the construction company's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the construction company's stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 70,856 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,969,000 after acquiring an additional 14,918 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.