Oppenheimer Raises PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $168.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price objective increased by Oppenheimer from $151.00 to $168.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

PHM has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned 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 $135.93.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $139.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $68.80 and a fifty-two week high of $145.84. The stock has a market cap of $29.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.62 and a 200-day moving average of $120.70.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,008,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,136,318,000 after buying an additional 197,656 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $802,789,000 after acquiring an additional 16,871 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 8.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,864,000 after purchasing an additional 235,826 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 19.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,254,000 after purchasing an additional 250,937 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.5% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,434,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $172,971,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 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.