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

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,498% compared to the average daily volume of 622 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,506,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at about $271,000. Finally, Prudential PLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 3,976 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.4 %

PHM stock opened at $110.41 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $100.24 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS 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%. The firm’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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $148.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.86.

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.