PulteGroup Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 9,941 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average volume of 622 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PHM. Citigroup upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their price target on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.73.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,030,000 after purchasing an additional 28,833 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 248.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 191,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,738,000 after purchasing an additional 136,370 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,660,000 after buying an additional 88,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,111,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PHM stock opened at $111.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $64.70 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The company has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.41.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company 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%. PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.62 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 Company Profile

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.