Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,236 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PHM. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased 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 buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.21.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $115.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.20 and its 200 day moving average is $126.93. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

PulteGroup 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.