PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PHM. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.29.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $112.90 on Monday. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.53 and a 200 day moving average of $127.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 17.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.7% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.0% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.