Peterson Wealth Services Sells 407 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Peterson Wealth Services cut its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,557 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in PulteGroup were worth $170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM opened at $106.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.02 and a 200 day moving average of $126.92. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.24 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.