PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Raised to $138.00 at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on PulteGroup to $138 (from $136) while maintaining a "neutral" rating, and the Street consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $140.50.
• PulteGroup's Q1 results showed EPS of $1.79, missing estimates by $0.01 while revenue of $3.41B slightly beat expectations, but revenue was down 12.4% year‑over‑year and margins were materially compressed by higher incentives and lower selling prices.
• The board approved an additional $1.50 billion share repurchase (raising total authorization to $2.1 billion), enabling buybacks of about 6.1% of outstanding shares as a clear capital‑return signal.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Citigroup from $136.00 to $138.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the construction company's stock. Citigroup's price target indicates a potential upside of 6.79% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.50.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM traded down $1.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $129.22. The stock had a trading volume of 77,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,895,818. The firm has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.33. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $95.20 and a 12 month high of $144.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.75.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 12.82%.The business's revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. Analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 14,220 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.01, for a total transaction of $1,919,842.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,417,352.53. The trade was a 16.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin A. Henry sold 5,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.03, for a total transaction of $729,548.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,069,333.19. The trade was a 26.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,952 shares of company stock worth $20,162,165. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,555,304 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,589,495,000 after acquiring an additional 655,033 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,284,197 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $502,366,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392,580 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,000,920 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $469,148,000 after acquiring an additional 377,003 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $466,653,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at about $315,883,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More PulteGroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting PulteGroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board ups buybacks by $1.5 billion (total authorization $2.1 billion), allowing repurchase of ~6.1% of shares — a strong capital‑return signal that can support the share price over time. Business Wire: Repurchase Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue modestly beat consensus ($3.41B vs. $3.40B) and management pointed to steady orders/community growth, suggesting demand pockets remain even as the market slows. This mitigates some near‑term concerns but doesn’t erase margin pressure. Zacks: Revenue Beat, Orders
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and the earnings call provide detail on incentives, pricing and inventory turns — useful for investors parsing whether margin compression is temporary or structural. Read the transcript for guidance color. Yahoo Finance: Q1 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings missed by a hair (EPS $1.79 vs. $1.80 est) and adjusted profit and margins declined materially year‑over‑year (EPS $2.57 a year ago); Pulte cited higher sales incentives and lower selling prices that compressed margins — the main driver of today’s share weakness. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Miss & Pricing Pressure WSJ: Profit Falls on Incentives

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc NYSE: PHM is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.