Graham Capital Management L.P. Invests $958,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,796 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $106.45 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $101.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PHM. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup 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.