The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Stock Price

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) had its price target reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $140.00 to $124.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the construction company's stock.

PHM has been the topic of several other reports. Wedbush upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.21.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM traded up $3.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $112.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,765,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,263. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47. 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 $23.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $121.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.93.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.49%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

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