Franchise Capital Ltd Invests $137,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,300 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000. PulteGroup makes up 0.1% of Franchise Capital Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PHM. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter worth $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at $54,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 571 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 46.2% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 760 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 42.1% in the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 770 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.5%

PulteGroup stock opened at $135.52 on Tuesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.50.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 15.50%.The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. PulteGroup’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PHM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.31.

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.