PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives $142.71 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.71.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $802,789,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,864,000 after buying an additional 235,826 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after buying an additional 135,391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM opened at $109.52 on Wednesday. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $99.03 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $126.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.15.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

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.