Oppenheimer Raises PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $143.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $138.00 to $143.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PHM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $111.73.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of PHM stock opened at $113.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.42. The company has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $64.70 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The company’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 11.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,008,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,136,318,000 after acquiring an additional 197,656 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $591,076,000 after acquiring an additional 24,350 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,125,000 after acquiring an additional 95,945 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,261,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth about $381,960,000. 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.