Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average volume of 622 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $136.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on PulteGroup in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.25.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $119.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.25. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $142.11. The company has a market capitalization of $23.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.31.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 14.93% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.01%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 22.3% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 19,433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 93.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 21,716 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 10,497 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $242,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 6.9% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.