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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $87.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.53.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $113.84 on Friday. PulteGroup has a 52 week low of $57.26 and a 52 week high of $121.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.56.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 441 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.