BNP Paribas Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

BNP Paribas bought a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,914 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,419,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in PulteGroup by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 331,553 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,993,000 after purchasing an additional 12,164 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 102,788 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $12,398,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PHM traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $136.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,271,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,829,449. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $136.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.25. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.59 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.63.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of PulteGroup from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.