Traders Purchase Large Volume of PulteGroup Call Options (NYSE:PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 9,941 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,498% compared to the typical daily volume of 622 call options.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.0 %

PHM stock opened at $120.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup has a 12 month low of $95.36 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.15.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. PulteGroup’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in PulteGroup by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,821 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 67.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 558 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 7.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the second quarter worth about $629,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,979,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.29.

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.