PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $129.00 to $117.00. The stock had previously closed at $106.23, but opened at $103.07. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PulteGroup shares last traded at $104.32, with a volume of 272,948 shares trading hands.

PHM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Zelman & Associates raised PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in PulteGroup by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in PulteGroup by 93.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 4,737 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in PulteGroup by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,848 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 9,880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.77. The company has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.61.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.51. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

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.