PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Raised to $143.00 at Oppenheimer

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price lifted by Oppenheimer from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on PHM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group cut PulteGroup from a buy rating to a neutral rating and raised their target price for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $110.73.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.05. PulteGroup has a 12-month low of $64.41 and a 12-month high of $121.07. The company has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth $33,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 186.5% during the third quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.