PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Cut to $119.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $146.00 to $119.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.29.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PHM stock opened at $108.77 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.99. The stock has a market cap of $22.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $2.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after buying an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 0.3% in the third quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $802,789,000 after buying an additional 16,871 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,864,000 after buying an additional 235,826 shares during 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% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 135,391 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.