GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $113,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,083 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 186.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter worth $36,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 335.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 379 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $113.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.70 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.76.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

PulteGroup 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.