PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $133.88, but opened at $124.59. PulteGroup shares last traded at $125.70, with a volume of 491,779 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

PulteGroup Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $137.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

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 transaction, the director now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 over the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $802,789,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in PulteGroup by 8.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,864,000 after buying an additional 235,826 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 19.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $168,254,000 after buying an additional 250,937 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,085,939 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,986,000 after buying an additional 168,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 964,422 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,183,000 after buying an additional 53,924 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PulteGroup Company 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.