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

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 9,941 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $381,960,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $68,985,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,892,229 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $195,316,000 after acquiring an additional 523,623 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 19.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $168,254,000 after acquiring an additional 250,937 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% during 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 during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $140.99 on Thursday. PulteGroup has a 52-week low of $68.80 and a 52-week high of $144.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $127.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.10.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

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.