Sanctuary Advisors LLC Raises Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,299 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of PulteGroup worth $17,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 67.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 558 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 7.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,788 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 46.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,683 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in PulteGroup by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 325,858 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,877,000 after purchasing an additional 22,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NatWest Group plc lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 81,571 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,981,000 after buying an additional 4,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock traded down $2.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $117.70. 1,040,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,821,476. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.03 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.11. 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 capitalization of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.62.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research increased their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.50.

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.