Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $110.65 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.09. PulteGroup has a one year low of $99.03 and a one year high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.90 EPS. PulteGroup’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 3,118.4% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 376,717 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,070,000 after purchasing an additional 365,012 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,973,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 50.9% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 5,336 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PHM. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.71.

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.