PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Price Target Cut to $140.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $165.00 to $140.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PHM. BTIG Research raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.71.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $108.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup has a one year low of $99.03 and a one year high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $130.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.10.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $802,789,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,864,000 after buying an additional 235,826 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after buying an additional 135,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.