Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Makes New $732,000 Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,097 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,254,000 after purchasing an additional 250,937 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $118.42 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $133.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.34. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.03 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.50.

About PulteGroup

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.