PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM Shares Purchased by Clough Capital Partners L P

Clough Capital Partners L P grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,834 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,870 shares during the period. PulteGroup accounts for 3.0% of Clough Capital Partners L P’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Clough Capital Partners L P’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $33,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 573,065 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $67,387,000 after acquiring an additional 13,259 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 166.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 10,467 shares during the period. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,625,000. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 351.9% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 46,752 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,177,000 after buying an additional 36,407 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 91,473 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,726,000 after buying an additional 27,590 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price target on PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.71.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of PHM opened at $121.74 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $98.27 and a one year high of $144.49. The company has a market cap of $23.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 10.06%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,372,000. The trade was a 20.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total transaction of $391,264.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,817.20. This trade represents a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.