PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $149.93 and last traded at $149.93, with a volume of 3465 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.14.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,269 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 17,369 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 28,774 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 464,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,993,000 after acquiring an additional 5,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 34.4% during the first 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.