Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM)

Key Points

• Investors showed significant interest in PulteGroup by purchasing 9,941 call options on Wednesday, a 1,498% increase compared to its typical volume.
• PulteGroup's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $3.03, exceeding estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 4.3%.
• Various institutional investors have increased their stakes in PulteGroup, with 89.90% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 9,941 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $126.2840 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.04. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in PulteGroup by 278.5% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 12,484 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,360,000 after buying an additional 9,186 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 9,316 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Ossiam grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,104 shares of the construction company's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 54,257 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,909,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,069 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 4,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on PulteGroup from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on PulteGroup from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.31.

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.

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