Short Interest in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Rises By 15.3%

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,590,000 shares, a growth of 15.3% from the January 15th total of 4,850,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 145.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after buying an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $259,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE PHM traded up $0.75 during trading on Monday, reaching $107.45. 1,519,276 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,329,279. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.08. PulteGroup has a 12-month low of $100.24 and a 12-month high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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.