Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 9,941 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average volume of 622 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $427,562,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,775,000 after buying an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,300,034,000 after buying an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in PulteGroup by 136.8% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 988,963 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $107,698,000 after buying an additional 571,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $105.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $100.54 and a 52 week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

About PulteGroup

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.