PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Increased to $143.00 by Analysts at Oppenheimer

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price increased by Oppenheimer from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut PulteGroup from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their price target for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated a neutral rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Five equities research 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 an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $111.73.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $113.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup has a 1-year low of $64.70 and a 1-year high of $121.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.59.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,030,000 after purchasing an additional 28,833 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 24.9% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 65.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,660,000 after purchasing an additional 88,638 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,111,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.