PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Hits New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $117.00 to $100.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PulteGroup traded as low as $93.42 and last traded at $93.60, with a volume of 887926 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $96.14.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 this hyperlink. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Down 4.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 6.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.03.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.