Barclays Cuts PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $100.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $117.00 to $100.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.64.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $93.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.21.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $427,562,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,034,000 after purchasing an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its position in PulteGroup by 136.8% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 988,963 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $107,698,000 after purchasing an additional 571,251 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $47,133,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.