Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN – Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $151.88, but opened at $156.30. Lennar shares last traded at $154.70, with a volume of 303,420 shares changing hands.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
LEN has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.
Lennar Stock Up 0.4 %
The firm has a market cap of $42.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.96.
Lennar (NYSE:LEN – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.
Lennar Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.
Insider Activity at Lennar
In related news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Lennar by 5.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $734,477,000 after purchasing an additional 366,983 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Lennar by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,681,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,611,000 after acquiring an additional 79,217 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lennar by 551.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,824,684 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $191,793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544,432 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,700,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $253,319,000 after purchasing an additional 72,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,550,371 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,067,000 after acquiring an additional 8,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.
About Lennar
Lennar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a homebuilder primarily under the Lennar brand in the United States. It operates through Homebuilding East, Homebuilding Central, Homebuilding Texas, Homebuilding West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other segments. The company’s homebuilding operations include the construction and sale of single-family attached and detached homes, as well as the purchase, development, and sale of residential land; and development, construction, and management of multifamily rental properties.