Brokerages Set PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Price Target at $134.69

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.69.

Several research analysts recently commented on PHM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,874 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 3,377 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of PHM stock opened at $97.56 on Friday. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.54. The company has a market cap of $19.55 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.21%.

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.