First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP Invests $2.72 Million in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,722,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 1,876.5% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,466 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $103.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.45. 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 company has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.69.

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.