PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $134.69.

A number of research firms have weighed in on PHM. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $102.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $101.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.39. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.21%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Norges Bank bought a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $427,562,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company's stock worth $180,775,000 after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,300,034,000 after acquiring an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 136.8% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 988,963 shares of the construction company's stock worth $107,698,000 after acquiring an additional 571,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,133,000. Institutional investors 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.

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