UBS Group Raises PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $151.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $148.00 to $151.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the construction company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 30.70% from the stock’s current price.

PHM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn cut PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Wedbush upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock traded down $2.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,247,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,148,871. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $100.24 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.