PulteGroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $106.15 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup has a 12-month low of $61.00 and a 12-month high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 9.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 55,196 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at $221,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 11.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 26.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 70,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after purchasing an additional 14,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.47.

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.