Vista Investment Partners LLC Raises Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,522 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 12,790 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,509 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 273.0% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 5,050 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,131 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management raised its stake in PulteGroup by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 42,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,619,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PHM. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE PHM opened at $102.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.46. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.29.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.21%.

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.