PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Raised to “Outperform” at Zelman & Associates

Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. 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. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. 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, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $111.73.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.1 %

PHM opened at $113.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.42. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $64.70 and a 12 month high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.96 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors 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 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,960,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,466 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,748,119 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $129,354,000 after acquiring an additional 679,582 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,762,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,892,229 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $195,316,000 after acquiring an additional 523,623 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.