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

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 9,941 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,498% compared to the typical volume of 622 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,760 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,697 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,308 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $129.72 on Thursday. PulteGroup has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $142.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $25.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.09.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 14.93% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on PulteGroup in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $154.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

PulteGroup Company Profile

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.