Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Stock Price

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price objective lowered by Bank of America from $135.00 to $134.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PHM. Barclays lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of PHM opened at $112.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.58. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. Compound Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $348,000. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.