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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 733,804 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $88,511,000 after buying an additional 212,837 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 621,064 shares of the construction company's stock worth $74,913,000 after buying an additional 28,774 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the construction company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter worth $1,040,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,502 shares of the construction company's stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PHM traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $129.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,846,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,841,979. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.62. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $72.45 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.69.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PHM. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.