Analysts Set PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) PT at $134.69

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.69.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PHM shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 929.2% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares in the last quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 42,241 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,600,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $275,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $464,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 72,064 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,848,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.4%

PHM stock traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,974,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,003. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

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

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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

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.