PulteGroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,498% compared to the average daily volume of 622 call options.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 153.7% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 8,314 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 5,037 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in PulteGroup by 20.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,517 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,046,000. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $14,472,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in PulteGroup by 13.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 225,440 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,175,000 after buying an additional 25,921 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PHM. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock traded down $1.90 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,283,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,998,474. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.74. The company has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $149.47.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.21%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.