Independent Advisor Alliance Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,354 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $291,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $278,000. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $752,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $275,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 168,689 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,412,000 after acquiring an additional 133,638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.87.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $114.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.16 and a 12-month high of $122.72.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.