PulteGroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the typical daily volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $142.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.43. PulteGroup has a 1-year low of $68.80 and a 1-year high of $145.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $2,491,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 over the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. BTIG Research increased their price target on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.93.

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.