Citigroup Cuts PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $119.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $146.00 to $119.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PHM. Wedbush raised shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $110.41 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $100.24 and a 12 month 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. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,059.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 313 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. 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.