PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Raised to $160.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price target increased by Bank of America from $138.00 to $160.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PHM. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research cut PulteGroup from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research upped their price target on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $134.71.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $141.86 on Thursday. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $68.80 and a 1 year high of $145.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.55.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 in the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,269 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in PulteGroup by 166.6% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 13,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,215 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in PulteGroup by 6.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 297,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,890,000 after acquiring an additional 17,369 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $719,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 4.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 621,064 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,913,000 after purchasing an additional 28,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.