Praxis Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,530 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,092,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 2,586.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,166,902 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $119,958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,471 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,486,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $358,395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,290 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 219.2% in the 1st quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,039,107 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,820,000 after purchasing an additional 713,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,262,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PHM shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.92.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.3%

PHM opened at $124.29 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.69.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 15.50%.The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.58%.

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.