PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on PulteGroup from $154.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.25.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $119.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.88. PulteGroup has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $142.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 571 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 18.2% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,368 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth $495,000. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in PulteGroup by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 52,149 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,361,000 after buying an additional 5,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.