Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $144.32. 1,262,141 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,839,965. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $127.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $68.80 and a 52 week high of $145.36.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. PulteGroup's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 160,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,729,065.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $381,960,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 128.2% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 10,975 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 32,649 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,370,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James upped their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.71.

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.