PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Raymond James

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Raymond James in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $135.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $120.00. Raymond James’ price target indicates a potential upside of 23.24% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.73.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock traded down $2.72 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $109.54. 757,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,814,202. The company has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $64.41 and a twelve month high of $121.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.05.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 70,207 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,468,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Eudaimonia Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at $269,000. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 77,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,254 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at $229,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.