PulteGroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $136.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $86.59 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.32.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in PulteGroup by 18.4% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 17.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.7% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 3.9% in the second quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PHM. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.