PulteGroup Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 929.2% in the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 18,575 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,559 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 416.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,775 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 10,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $275,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PHM. Evercore ISI increased their price target on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Trading Down 4.0%

NYSE:PHM opened at $102.21 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.64. PulteGroup has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $20.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.21%.

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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