FCG Investment Co Increases Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

FCG Investment Co grew its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,333 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the quarter. FCG Investment Co’s holdings in Lennar were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 933.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 4,225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lennar Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:LEN opened at $134.45 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a 52 week low of $128.41 and a 52 week high of $193.80. The stock has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $151.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LEN shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Lennar from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.50.

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.