PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Upgraded at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $108.06. 2,461,674 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,295,283. The firm has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $100.54 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $109.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,300,034,000 after acquiring an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120,878 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $556,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64,947 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $427,562,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in PulteGroup by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,425,941 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $264,185,000 after acquiring an additional 315,148 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.