PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $142.71.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research upped their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 700,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,848,621. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $129.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. PulteGroup has a fifty-two week low of $99.03 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

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.