PulteGroup Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PHM)

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after acquiring an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10,625.8% during the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 9,457 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $109.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly 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%. Research analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.