UBS Group Boosts PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $154.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $148.00 to $154.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $132.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.16. PulteGroup has a one year low of $71.20 and a one year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The firm 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 company posted $2.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in PulteGroup by 1.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,269 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in PulteGroup by 6.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 297,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,890,000 after purchasing an additional 17,369 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 4.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 621,064 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,913,000 after purchasing an additional 28,774 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 1.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 464,217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 34.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 679,940 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,901,000 after purchasing an additional 173,914 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.