Econ Financial Services Corp Makes New $567,000 Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 5,375 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $567,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 770 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 38,993 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,008,000 after purchasing an additional 10,867 shares during the period. Florida Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2,687.0% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 77,310 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,947,000 after purchasing an additional 74,536 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 909 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.4%

PHM opened at $120.77 on Wednesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $142.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $23.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $129.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.06.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 14.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Citigroup increased their price target on PulteGroup from $132.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.67.

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.