PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Purchased by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1,876.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,680 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 48,427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,274,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 54,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PHM. Bank of America raised their price target on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock traded down $2.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,040,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,158. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $122.45 and a 200-day moving average of $126.72. The stock has a market cap of $22.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.49%.

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.