PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Earns "Equal Weight" Rating from Barclays

Barclays reissued their equal weight rating on shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $140.00 price target on the construction company's stock, down from their previous price target of $150.00.

PHM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.29.

PulteGroup Trading Down 2.8 %

PHM stock traded down $3.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $121.89. The company had a trading volume of 2,636,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,695. The company has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.94 and a 200 day moving average of $127.15. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $95.36 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHM. FMR LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,647,364,000 after buying an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $74,917,000 after acquiring an additional 407,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company's stock worth $62,568,000 after acquiring an additional 397,003 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.