JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target to $155.00

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $162.00 to $155.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PHM. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.50.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $118.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $99.03 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.34.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. PulteGroup’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% during the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10,625.8% during the third quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 9,457 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.