PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Upgraded at Zelman & Associates

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

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PHM. UBS Group downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $110.73.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.05. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. PulteGroup’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

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

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 77,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,254 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $416,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.