Hancock Whitney Corp Invests $253,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,760 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $629,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in PulteGroup by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 94,588 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,409,000 after purchasing an additional 53,175 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 10,625.8% in the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 9,457 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 331,553 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,993,000 after purchasing an additional 12,164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $136.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.25. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.59 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. PulteGroup’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PHM shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research cut PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

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.