LRI Investments LLC Takes Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,668 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at about $324,000. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lennar by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at about $313,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $174.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Lennar from $177.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.88.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In related news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total value of $1,512,938.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares in the company, valued at $2,764,707.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lennar news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at $20,927,938.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total value of $1,512,938.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,764,707.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,176 shares of company stock worth $4,841,039. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $5.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $176.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,211,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,404,686. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $102.90 and a 12-month high of $178.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.18. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 11.58%. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.57 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

Lennar Profile

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.