Wayfinding Financial LLC Takes $275,000 Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,528 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 642.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $105.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.33 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $108.63 and a 200-day moving average of $122.45.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

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.