Empirical Finance LLC Cuts Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,719 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,463 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 17.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PHM. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $106.55 on Tuesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.02 and its 200 day moving average is $126.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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.