PulteGroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PHM shares. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,049 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in PulteGroup by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 62,706 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,473,000 after buying an additional 10,014 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in PulteGroup by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 36,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after buying an additional 15,084 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth $315,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.2 %

PHM opened at $142.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $68.80 and a 52 week high of $145.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.43.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

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.