Citigroup Cuts PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $119.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $146.00 to $119.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the construction company's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research increased their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.29.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PHM stock traded down $1.28 on Monday, reaching $108.77. 1,539,838 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,619,711. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $124.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company's stock worth $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company's stock worth $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

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.