PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $142.20.

PHM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised PulteGroup from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $166.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,650.0% in the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 158.5% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $116.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.42. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $108.49 and a 52 week high of $144.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.19.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. PulteGroup had a net margin of 11.62% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.62%.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc is a U.S. homebuilding company that designs, constructs and sells homes for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up and active-adult customers. Its residential offerings include single-family homes, townhomes and communities in a variety of price ranges and styles.

The company operates through several well-known brands, including Pulte, Centex, Del Webb, DiVosta and American West Homes. Its communities are located across numerous metropolitan areas and regions in the United States, with operations spanning markets in the South, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest and West.

PulteGroup also provides mortgage lending and related title services to support home purchases through its financial-services operations.