SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,480 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 54.6% during the 4th 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 period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,748,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,354,000 after buying an additional 679,582 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $47,762,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,261,000 after buying an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $27,738,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $107.02. 2,698,574 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,803,266. The company has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.35 and a 12 month high of $121.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.42.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup 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.