Homestead Advisers Corp Grows Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Homestead Advisers Corp boosted its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 455,800 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 17,400 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp owned approximately 0.22% of PulteGroup worth $49,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 19,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,660 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 48,399 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,947,000 after buying an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,586 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 19.6% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $105.21 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.35 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.15, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its 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 net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.