Oppenheimer Lowers PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $165.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price target trimmed by Oppenheimer from $168.00 to $165.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays increased their price target on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research cut PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research increased their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.5 %

PHM stock opened at $132.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.14 and a 200-day moving average of $123.16. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $71.20 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total transaction of $3,748,504.97. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,729,065.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,729,065.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,289,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 297,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,890,000 after purchasing an additional 17,369 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 621,064 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,913,000 after purchasing an additional 28,774 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 464,217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 679,940 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,901,000 after purchasing an additional 173,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.