PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $146.27 and last traded at $145.99, with a volume of 384516 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $142.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Six research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.14.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $134.79 and its 200-day moving average is $122.05. The company has a market capitalization of $30.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% in the second quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,092 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 3,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.