PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $107.64, but opened at $110.49. PulteGroup shares last traded at $109.32, with a volume of 141,506 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer cut their target price 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 lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.14.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.77.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. PulteGroup’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PHM. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 17.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.0% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.