PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.6154.

Several research firms recently issued reports on PHM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up previously from $140.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $134.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, insider Ryan Marshall sold 111,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.86, for a total transaction of $14,891,925.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 659,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,266,213.12. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Matthew William Koart sold 15,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.79, for a total value of $2,078,809.11. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,759,940.22. This represents a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 144,779 shares of company stock worth $19,432,616 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,555,304 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,589,495,000 after acquiring an additional 655,033 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in PulteGroup by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,284,197 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $502,366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392,580 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,000,920 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $469,148,000 after purchasing an additional 377,003 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $466,653,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 0.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,634,275 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $277,811,000 after buying an additional 23,051 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $139.95 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.11. The company has a market cap of $26.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. PulteGroup has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $144.49.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 9.35%.

PulteGroup Company Profile

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.