PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Rating Lowered to "In-Line" at Evercore ISI

Key Points

• PulteGroup was downgraded by Evercore ISI from an "outperform" rating to "in-line," with a revised price target of $154.00, down from $163.00.
• Wells Fargo raised their price target on the company's stock to $150.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, amidst a mix of ratings from other analysts.
• PulteGroup reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $3.03, surpassing estimates, though revenue was down 4.3% year-over-year.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $154.00 price target on the construction company's stock, down from their prior price target of $163.00. Evercore ISI's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.91% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $136.46.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $129.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.62.

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

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $404,339,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,092,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 2,586.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,166,902 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $119,958,000 after buying an additional 1,123,471 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 40.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,486,330 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $358,395,000 after buying an additional 1,001,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 219.2% in the first quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,039,107 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $106,820,000 after buying an additional 713,534 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PulteGroup

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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