PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $101.03 and last traded at $101.47, with a volume of 87581 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.1 %

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 business has a 50 day moving average of $110.87 and a 200-day moving average of $125.40. The stock has a market cap of $20.64 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

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

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PHM. FMR LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after buying an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $427,562,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after purchasing an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,300,034,000 after purchasing an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 136.8% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 988,963 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $107,698,000 after purchasing an additional 571,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.