Stevens Capital Management LP Cuts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Stevens Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,528 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $591,076,000 after purchasing an additional 24,350 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,125,000 after acquiring an additional 95,945 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,261,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,115,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $230,731,000 after acquiring an additional 61,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $310,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:PHM traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $111.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,888,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,828,765. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.90 and its 200 day moving average is $99.05. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.41 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The stock has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.83% 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.