Barclays Cuts PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $117.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price reduced by analysts at Barclays from $125.00 to $117.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the construction company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 1.24% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PHM. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $154.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.71.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $118.47 on Friday. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.42.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 3.0% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 89 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.