Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Takes $2.41 Million Position in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 18,211 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,290,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,296,170,000 after acquiring an additional 95,058 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter worth approximately $404,339,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 27.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,199,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $337,462,000 after purchasing an additional 683,728 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in PulteGroup by 0.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,634,275 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $277,811,000 after purchasing an additional 23,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in PulteGroup by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,755,241 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $185,108,000 after buying an additional 202,870 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $154.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays set a $115.00 price objective on PulteGroup in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.25.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM opened at $118.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.44 and a 200-day moving average of $121.83. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $142.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.31.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 14.93% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.