M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Makes New $444,000 Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,074 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1,059.3% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 313 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of PHM opened at $117.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.24 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.17.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PHM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.14.

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.