PulteGroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 3,977 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 156% compared to the typical volume of 1,555 put options.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total transaction of $391,264.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at $414,817.20. This represents a 48.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $894,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,372,000. This represents a 20.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 197.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 12.9% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 8.0% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,060 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 17.6% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,395,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of NYSE PHM traded down $6.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $123.44. 559,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,858,305. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.18. PulteGroup has a 52-week low of $107.16 and a 52-week high of $144.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 10.06%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut PulteGroup from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.43.

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.