PulteGroup Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average daily volume of 622 call options.

Insider Activity

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded down $2.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,818,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,878,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $100.35 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $108.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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.