PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $124.22 and traded as high as $124.60. PulteGroup shares last traded at $124.4090, with a volume of 1,996,554 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. Citigroup boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research downgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded PulteGroup from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.24.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.10). PulteGroup had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1,650.0% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Lynch Investment Planning LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $26,000. NFSG Corp bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc is a major U.S. homebuilding company that designs, builds and sells homes for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up and active-adult customers. Its operations include land acquisition and development, home construction, sales and marketing, and customer service.

The company markets homes under several well-known brands, including Pulte, Centex, Del Webb, DiVosta and American West. Through these brands, PulteGroup offers a variety of single-family home designs and communities, with products tailored to different price points, lifestyles and stages of homeownership.