PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Upgraded by Zelman & Associates to “Outperform”

Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PHM. Raymond James raised their price target on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group downgraded PulteGroup from a buy rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $111.73.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $113.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.42. The company has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $64.70 and a 1 year high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,008,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,136,318,000 after purchasing an additional 197,656 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $591,076,000 after purchasing an additional 24,350 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,125,000 after purchasing an additional 95,945 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,261,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,960,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.