PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $144.26, but opened at $138.58. PulteGroup shares last traded at $137.26, with a volume of 651,325 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.95.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.10%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction 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 owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 18.4% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 17.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 3.9% during the second quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.0% during the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,092 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

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.