KBC Group NV Acquires 15,998 Shares of Lennar Corporation $LEN

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 34.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,689 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 15,998 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lennar were worth $6,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,177 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 25,622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lennar by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 34,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LEN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lennar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $74.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $105.00 to $97.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $113.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $99.87.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $92.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.22. Lennar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.03 and a fifty-two week high of $144.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 4.77.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.07). Lennar had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.39%.The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

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.