Vicus Capital Grows Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vicus Capital raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,954 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PHM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $107.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.35. 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 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, 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, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.