Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the average volume of 622 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PulteGroup from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on PulteGroup from $82.00 to $92.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Raymond James cut their price target on PulteGroup from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on PulteGroup from $94.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.9 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $87.03 on Thursday. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $41.72 and a 52 week high of $88.81. The stock has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The construction company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 28.25%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 9.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 55,196 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at about $221,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 11.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 26.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 70,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after buying an additional 14,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.84% 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, American West, and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods brand names.