Traders Purchase Large Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,498% compared to the average daily volume of 622 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.71.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $110.75 on Thursday. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $99.03 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $802,789,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,864,000 after purchasing an additional 235,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after buying an additional 135,391 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.