Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. Lennar had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 7.80%.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock traded up $5.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $94.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,357,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,942,856. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.12 and a 200 day moving average of $103.65. The stock has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Lennar has a 12-month low of $81.18 and a 12-month high of $144.24.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in Lennar by 86.7% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,135,000 after buying an additional 1,172,068 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Lennar by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,127,225 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,681,000 after acquiring an additional 228,247 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth $95,941,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its position in Lennar by 3.7% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 555,305 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,991,000 after acquiring an additional 19,566 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Lennar by 1,303.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 490,105 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,383,000 after acquiring an additional 455,174 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lennar from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “sell” rating and set a $74.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $97.27.

Lennar Company 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.