Yousif Capital Management LLC Acquires 8,686 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,738 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,686 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $310,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,466 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 63.6% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,748,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,354,000 after acquiring an additional 679,582 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $47,762,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,261,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $27,738,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $113.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 0.51 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $111.28 and its 200 day moving average is $99.42. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.70 and a 12 month high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. PulteGroup’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PHM. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.