PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) was downgraded by stock analysts at B. Riley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Wednesday. They presently have a $36.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $31.00. B. Riley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.88% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. MKM Partners reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Monday, September 25th. Zacks Investment Research raised PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Citigroup cut PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, October 20th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.38.
Shares of PulteGroup (NYSE PHM) traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $33.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,937,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,732,650. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $18.18 and a 1 year high of $34.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $9,810.00, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.21.
In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 92,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.89, for a total value of $3,144,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 363,722 shares in the company, valued at $12,326,538.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider James R. Ellinghausen sold 67,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $2,183,301.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 297,202 shares of company stock valued at $9,394,580 over the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at $253,000. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at $2,692,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 1.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,662,099 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,708,000 after buying an additional 46,478 shares in the last quarter. BB&T Corp raised its stake in PulteGroup by 6.7% in the third quarter. BB&T Corp now owns 458,209 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,182,000 after buying an additional 28,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denver Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Denver Investment Advisors LLC now owns 397,468 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.53% of the company’s stock.
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About PulteGroup
PulteGroup, Inc is a homebuilder in the United States. The Company’s segments include Homebuilding and Financial Services. Its Homebuilding operations are engaged in the acquisition and development of land primarily for residential purposes within the United States and the construction of housing on such land.
