PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Raised to “Buy” at UBS Group

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $148.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $154.00. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 37.32% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $107.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $100.24 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.95.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,506,000. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the second quarter worth approximately $271,000. Finally, Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 131.7% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 3,976 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 2,260 shares during 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.