AlphaQuest LLC Buys 6,992 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 71.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,748 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,992 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PHM. UBS Group upped their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $108.06 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.54 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.09.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. 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 0.81%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.