PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Shares Gap Up to $106.15

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $106.15, but opened at $109.50. PulteGroup shares last traded at $108.06, with a volume of 107,398 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $110.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.77.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,960,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 29.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,850,407 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $203,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,565 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $310,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 36.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,651,100 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $152,982,000 after purchasing an additional 972,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,289,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.