PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Given New $131.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $126.00 to $131.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $110.73.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.05. The stock has a market cap of $23.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup has a one year low of $64.41 and a one year high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,008,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,136,318,000 after purchasing an additional 197,656 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $591,076,000 after buying an additional 24,350 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $406,125,000 after acquiring an additional 95,945 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $328,261,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,960,000. 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.