Bank of America Comments on PulteGroup CEO's Presentation at Industrials and Materials Conference

In a report published Tuesday, Bank of America analyst Michael A. Roxland reiterated a Neutral rating and $23.00 price target on PulteGroup PHM. In the report, Bank of America noted, “PulteGroup's head of Investor Relations Jim Zeumer presented at BofAML's Industrials and Materials Conference. The tone was optimistic about sustained housing improvement, although Pulte noted that we need to see a rebound in demand as the recovery thus far has largely been driven by tight supplies...During Q&A, questions centered on credit availability and labor costs. Credit conditions have slightly improved for smaller private builders while PHM has not seen any meaningful improvement in credit for first-time home buyers. Meantime, labor is constrained with subcontractors carefully managing utilization. This has not only resulted in higher labor costs (which should persist into 2014) but also longer construction times.” PulteGroup closed on Monday at $18.57.