Payden & Rygel Makes New Investment in Lennar Corporation $LEN

Payden & Rygel acquired a new stake in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 82,900 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,449,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 102.7% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 371 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the second quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of LEN opened at $116.32 on Monday. Lennar Corporation has a 12 month low of $98.42 and a 12 month high of $144.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $113.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 4.89 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.44.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 16th. The construction company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 25.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on LEN shares. BTIG Research set a $90.00 price target on Lennar in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Lennar Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.